Jackson Browne Sues McCain Camp

Add Jackson Browne to the list of people that the McCain campaign has "borrowed" material from without permission - apparently the Ohio GOP has used his song "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad that ridiculed Barack Obama for suggesting that the country conserve gas through proper tire inflation:

"We are confident that Jackson Browne will prevail in this lawsuit. Not only have Senator McCain and his agents plainly infringed Mr. Browne's copyright in Running On Empty, but the Federal Courts have long held that the unauthorized use of a famous singer's voice in a commercial constitutes a false endorsement and a violation of the singer's right of publicity," Lawrence Iser of the Santa Monica, California law firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert said in a press release. "In light of Jackson Browne's lifelong commitment to Democratic ideals and political candidates, the misappropriation of Jackson Browne's endorsement is entirely reprehensible, and I have no doubt that a jury will agree."

And, earlier this week, Mike Myers demanded that McCain take down a web ad that -- mocking Obama's celebrity -- used a "we're not worthy" clip from the movie Wayne's World. Last month, Warner Music Group demanded that You Tube remove the McCain video that featured Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Back in February, John Mellencamp’s reps demanded that McCain stop playing his songs “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” at his rallies.

And, back in June, McCain sparked the ire of the song "Still the One"'s co-writer, the founding member of Orleans and current New York congressman, John Hall by using the song at a Nashua campaign rally. Also in June, McCain irked game composer Christopher Lennertz, an ardent supporter of Barack Obama:

"I have been receiving many emails and calls for the past week regarding the use of my music in a national television ad for John McCain's presidential campaign. The ad is called "Safe" and prominently features a track entitled "Casualties of War" that I wrote for Medal of Honor: European Assault. While I do not control the ownership of this piece, I am extremely disappointed its placement in this commercial. I did not authorize the use and was not made aware of the situation. Regardless of party affiliation of support, I would like to think that someone who believes in the American ideals of business and creativity like Sen. McCain supposedly does, would not want to disgrace or inflict any hardship or ill-will on the artists who create in this country by using their works to promote products and agendas which with they disagree."