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With Campaign Behind Us, Jackson Browne-John McCain Battle Continues

Of all the left-leaning classic rockers that took offence to the McCain campaigns use of their material, Jackson Browne appears to be the only real pit bull in the pack, and is not giving up easily in his efforts to punish McCain for the use of his hit song “Running on Empty” as part of a television ad during the long, and often nasty campaign.

In response to Browne’s lawsuit for the “violation of his publicity rights, copyright infringement and a false endorsement,” the McCain camp is firing back with some legal action of their own.

McCain’s legal team has filed two motions including a motion to dismiss the case on grounds that the use of Browne’s material was protected by the fair use provisions that are part of federal copyright law.

McCain is also deflecting blame away from his campaign by claiming that the commercial in question was actually created by the Ohio Republican Party.

In addition to the motion to dismiss the case, McCain is also seeking seeking to recover attorney’s fees and court costs that resulted from having to defend himself in what he refers to as a "frivolous" action.

In some comments that may be reminiscent of the jabs that he and President-elect Obama exchanged during the campaign for the highest office in the land, McCain said that Browne’s motive for suing him was due to Browne being “…desperate for publicity to boost his career.” McCain also indicated that the publicity surrounding this case would probably provide a boost in popularity for the 1978 hit.

Although the McCain-Browne dust-up is the only one that seems to be outlasting the campaign itself, other notable rockers who were reportedly unhappy with the McCain campaign’s use of their music include Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, and Foo Fighters. So far, no word of any lawsuits from other angry artists has surfaced.

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Tags: Jackson Browne, John McCain, lawsuit, Running on Empty

Bon Jovi Facing Another Lawsuit

Perhaps the boys from Bon Jovi are beginning to wonder if someone has put a curse on them or something. In addition to the $14 billion lawsuit that was filed by a Boston-based songwriter who claims the group violated the copyright on a song he had written in honor of his hometown baseball team, the Boston Red Sox, the Jersey rockers are now facing a lawsuit over a nasty incident that is alleged to have occurred in the U.K. in 2006.

Although the $14 billion suit may not be something that they are losing too much sleep over due to the nature of copyright law, and how difficult it can be to prove a violation, the new lawsuit has another legal team nipping at Bon Jovi’s heals as the result of an alleged incident that appears to be a bit more cut-and-dry.

This time, the lawsuit is centered not around something that a member of the group actually did, but what one of their employees is said to have done while with the group on tour in the U.K.

Sally Allen, a security supervisor at Milton Keynes’ National Bowl claims that a member of the Bon Jovi entourage ran her down with a golf cart. Allen is claiming that she suffered a broken knee and ligament damage, in addition to serious internal injuries and had to spend almost a week in the hospital.

The $400,000 lawsuit has been filed against the group over the alleged incident which involved Bon Jovi staff member Kevin McDonnell, who, according to Allen, was operating a golf cart, and demanded that he be granted access to the VIP area of the venue. After ordering Allen out of the way, she claims that McDonnell referred to her in less-than-flattering terms and proceeded to run her right leg over with the golf cart.

Allen’s suit is aimed at the four members of the group and their company, and is claiming “for trespass to the person and negligence.”

For their part, Bon Jovi "strenuously" deny her accusations.

Depending on whose telling the truth here, Ms. Allen might consider playing the lottery is she has any interest in a safer way to collect large amount of cash. Either that, or there’s at least one Bon Jovi staff member that could probably benefit from some anger management training.

Check out the full details at NME.

Tags: Bon Jovi, Golf Cart, lawsuit, Milton Keynes' National Bowl, Sally Allen

Rockers Continue To Protest McCain Campaign’s Use Of Their Material

I’ll admit that my memory isn’t quite what it used to be, but I don’t recall a Presidential campaign in which we have heard this much complaining from certain musical luminaries as we have this time around. Perhaps “W” did not use that much controversial musical material during his two campaigns. But again, I’m working with the memory of a middle-aged classic rock fan here, who was around before it became known as “classic.”

The latest artist to hop aboard the “Stop using my music, John McCain” bandwagon is Jon Bon Jovi. This certainly comes as no surprise since he’s very well known as a supporter of Senator Obama, and has even hosted a fundraising dinner at his home in New Jersey for Obama.

It seems that the McCain campaign’s use of the Bon Jovi song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” a few times within the last day or two does not sit well with Mr. Bon Jovi, and he says that he was “…surprised to hear that our song ‘Who Says You Can’t Go Home’ was used by the McCain campaign at rallies yesterday and today. We wrote this song as a thank you to those who have supported us over the past 25 years."

OK, so we add Jon Bon Jovi to the list of ticked of rockers who do not appreciate their music being in any way connected with the Republican party. But before we’re done, we may as well add the lesser-known, but apparently no- less-ticked-off Survivor to the list.

Remember “Eye of The Tiger?” Personally, I’d rather forget, but there was a time back around 1982 when the song racked up its share of airtime on radio stations across the country. The song was written at the request of Rocky star Sylvester Stallone and was used as a theme song for the movie Rocky 3.

Well I guess John McCain, or whoever is responsible for choosing his music, decided that their campaign could use a little bit of well-known fightin’ music to energize the crowd, and decided that “Eye of The Tiger” would fit the bill nicely. Survivor does not agree, and has asked the McCain campaign to stop using the song.

I think a lot of people, including myself, have wondered if these protests — and in the case of the Wilson Sisters from Heart, a cease and desist letter — really have any legal weight behind them. Well, I may have stumbled upon the answer today.

According to this article, the songs were used mostly during campaign events inside venues like large convention centers, and in those cases, the venues have paid the appropriate entities for the use of those songs as part of a licensing agreement that allows the venues to play a rather large list of songs for various artists.

However, as the article from E! Online points out, the McCain people might actually have some trouble on their hands where the Jackson Browne case is concerned. Since Browne’s material was used during a television commercial, there are different rules and restrictions involved.

Browne has actually filed a lawsuit which is claiming copyright infringement, which I presume will convince whoever McCain has hired to craft his television commercials to study up a bit on copyright law.

With just a little over two weeks to go before this is all over, I’m wondering if there is enough time to hear from at least one more disgruntled artist. This campaign just won’t be the same if we don’t.

Tags: Bon Jovi, Copyright, Heart, Jackson Browne, lawsuit, McCain, Obama, Politics, Survivor

Bon Jovi Slapped With $400 Billion Lawsuit Over Baseball Song

Bart Steele is a Boston Red Sox fan, and in light of these circumstances, he probably even qualifies as a “Super Fan.” I think that’s a title that’s well deserved for someone who writes a song about their hometown team, and referred to it as a "love song for his beloved Red Sox,” and graced it with the name “(Man I Really) Love this Team.”

Although Steele may still be feeling pretty good about last year’s World Series win by his beloved Sox, there is something that he is definitely not too happy about, and he’s not taking it sitting down. Steele has filed a $400 billion (no, that’s not a typo) lawsuit against legendary rock group Bon Jovi.

Steele alleges that Bon Jovi essentially re-wrote his beloved baseball song and called it “I Love This Town,” which the group recorded as a promotion for Major League Baseball, and also included the tune on their CD Lost Highway.

Although $400 billion sure sounds like a lot of dough, the lawsuit claims that the amount is authorized by copyright  laws. The suit says they are seeking $100,000 per CD sold, and with just under 4 million sold, the math comes out to around $400 billion. The suit also states that Steele intends to donate 99% of the money to musicians’ rights organizations.

When I hear about lawsuits filed against rock stars or other big-name celebrities, I will often comment about my doubt that the defendant(s) in question will wind up in the poor house, or anywhere in its vicinity even if they lose the case.

In this case, however, I’m wondering if Bon Jovi might be just a little nervous. $400 billion has to be way beyond any amount that the group has accumulated during their career, and the old poor house could be opening its doors for the Jersey rockers if by some chance, a judgment that large is levied against them.

Granted, a $400 billion award in this case is probably very unlikely, but you do remember the case of the woman who won a $2.7 million judgment against McDonald’s when she spilled hot coffee on herself don’t you? That amount was reduced, and then changed again later when both parties agreed to a settlement that remains secret.

Like most of these cases, it will probably be quite some time before we hear about a verdict or a settlement, but it will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

For more details, check out AntiMusic.

Tags: Bart Steele, Bon Jovi, Boston Red Sox, Copyright, lawsuit, Song

Aerosmith’s Tyler Takes on Bloggers Behaving Badly

Steven Tyler has had just about enough, and he’s decided to take legal action against some bloggers who have been crossing the line by impersonating the iconic Aerosmith frontman online, and writing about his mother as well as additional “intimate details” of the rocker’s life.

Tyler recently filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against the bloggers, whose identity is not yet known, and who Tyler suspects of similar online activities last year. Some of the online impersonators are also reported to have pretended to be Tyler’s girlfriend, Erin Brady.

Most, if not all of the blogs were created on Google’s popular BlogSpot service, where just about anyone can set up a free blog, and blog about almost any topic, as long as it is within the boundaries set in place by Google and, of course, within the law.

Tyler was successful last year when he asked Google to remove the offending blogs, which apparently put an end to the problem for a while. With these latest incidents, which include comments about Tyler’s mother, who recently passed away, Tyler seems to have decided to go after these anonymous individuals through the legal system.

Tyler’s suit alleges that the bloggers are engaging in acts that result in public disclosure of private facts, making false statements and misappropriation of likeness. It also seeks an injunction ordering the defendants to stop impersonating him online or elsewhere.

For the time being, it appears that Google has stepped in again, and suspended the blogs in question. Web surfers trying to access them are greeted with a message that indicates that the blog(s) are suspended and under review due to possible terms of service violations.

These things can take a while to play out, and it can often be very difficult to track down an internet user’s identity, especially if they know what they are doing.

If all goes well for Tyler, his case will have its day in court and the alleged offenders will have to pay whatever penalty the court decides to impose on them.

Tags: Aerosmith, Bloggers, lawsuit, Steven Tyler