The Daily Swarm

CNET:

YouTube has become the battleground in a copyright fight between singer Don Henley and a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in California.

Henley, one of the founders of rock group The Eagles, has filed a lawsuit accusing Senate candidate Charles DeVore of violating his copyright. DeVore allegedly used two of Henley’s hit songs “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” in two YouTube campaign videos without authorization.

“Don Henley and Mike Campbell (Henley’s producer) brought this action to protect their song, ‘The Boys of Summer,’ which was taken and used without their permission,” Henley’s spokesman told CNN. “The infringers have vowed to continue exploiting this and other copyrighted works, as it suits them, to further their own ambitions and agenda. It was necessary to file a lawsuit to stop them.”

Contra Costa Times:

The video, titled “A Special Message from Chuck DeVore,” opens with a spoken introduction by Hart, followed by a verse-by-verse remake of Henley and Campbell’s song using DeVore’s lyrics over the original record’s instrumental track, the complaint said.

At the video’s conclusion, with the song still playing, a DeVore campaign slogan appears.

“Henley and Campbell did not, and would not, authorize the use of their song for this purpose,” the suit said. “Viewers might also conclude that Henley and Campbell are political supporters of DeVore, which they are not.”

The complaint seeks $150,000 in damages, an injunction halting DeVore’s use of the song, removal of the video from all places where it can be seen and destruction of all copies.

Chuck DeVore’s Blog:

That Henley has contributed some $750,000 to Democrats and liberal causes over the years, including $10,000 to Barack Obama and $9,000 to Sen. Barbara Boxer, adds authenticity to the political nature of my ditties. As the L.A. Daily News reported Friday night, “Henley, a longtime vocal supporter of Democratic causes, has drawn boos from fans in Orange County over the years for making political comments between songs during concerts.” Indeed. Henley’s lawsuit shows he’s good at dishing it out, but not so good at taking it….

I note with interest that the D.C.-based bi-partisan musical group “Capitol Steps” has been building on others’ work by turning familiar songs into biting political commentary since 1981. They have yet to pay royalties to any artist and, as their songs are political, unlike, for instance, “Weird Al” Yankovic, they rarely secure permission from the artists whose works they build upon.

Bottom line, we are responding to the Henley/Campbell lawsuit and expect to prevail. If an elected official running for the U.S. Senate is not allowed to fearlessly engage in parody, then the First Amendment means little.