Re: Political Fair Use

On 10/14/96, Charles E. Keller wrote:
>
> Another "similar" incident involved Bob Dole's people playing "Born
> in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen as part of his campaign tour. Bruce
> was not happy about the *implication* that he was a supporter. Mr.
> Springsteen wrote Dole that the music was "appropriated" and "used
> w/o permission".

NPR reported a similar incident. The Dole campaign got in hot water for revising the blues hit "I'm a sole man" to "I'm a Dole man." I have worked very little with ASCAP but I believe that the creator would not be bound by Dole's paying ASCAP fees to let Dole use it. The author could argue that Dole created a derivative work that violated the artist's moral rights.

I also think the assertion that a compulsory license covers Dole fails because the association of a song of this nature with the Republican party changes "the fundamental character of the work" which is the touchstone for SS115 applicability.

Brian E. Lewis
Associate General Counsel
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
<lawman[_at_]wizards.com> Received on Wed Oct 16 1996 - 16:42:08 GMT