Browne v. McCain

It's not just the private sector that has to respect all copyright issues. Even public officials can slip up. Take for example the 2008 presidential campaign of John McCain. His campaign mocked Barack Obama's energy policy by using the song "Running on Empty" by singer Jackson Browne. Mr. Browne filed a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement over the illegal use of his song.

Did Senator McCain do this intentionally or have prior knowledge of this? Unknown. It was probably the mistake of one of his staff members. Regardless, the lawsuit listed defendants as Senator McCain, the Ohio GOP and the RNC. You can read the whole story by Andy Greene in the August 20th, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.

The bottom line:
There is a saying that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. In the music copyright world, this can be a very expensive mistake.



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Service Agreement

Please note that, by using this service provided by Positive Feedback Studios, you agree to the following conditions:

  • 1) You take full responsibility for adhering to the regulations of the "Fair Use" provisions of the copyright laws.
  • 2) You accept full responsibility for any copyright issues and indemnify Positive Feedback Studios and its representatives against any issues that may arise.
  • 3) All material sent to Positive Feedback Studios is from your personal collection.
  • 4) All material returned to you is for your personal private listening and is not to be sold without the original, broadcast, or duplicated without the written authorization of the copyright holders.
  • 5) Only one copy will be made from the ORIGINAL submitted copyrighted materials unless you are the copyright holder. No reproductions will be made from non-original (copied) materials.

Fair Use

TurntableThe "Fair Use" Law allows an individual to make a copy of a lawfully obtained copyrighted work for their own personal use. We at Positive Feedback Studios take copyright laws and regulations very seriously. If there is any doubt about the legal owner of any copyrighted material, we may require additional information from you before duplication can take place.

The "Fair Use" law, as stated in the US Supreme Court Opinion in Sony v. Universal City Studios, allows an individual to make a copy of a lawfully obtained copyrighted work for their own personal use.  Personal use also permits you to transfer from one media source to another, for example, copying your old LPs to CD or MP3 files.  This "Fair Use" does not give a person the right to copy music and distribute to others.



For More Information:

The Record Collectors Guild

Stanford University Fair Use Description

The Copyright Office of the United States



Here is a fun look at copyright and fair use

This is a link to a YouTube video illustrating the use of copyrighted material. Be advised that this was NOT produced by anyone here at Positive Feedback Studios and can be found on Google's website.