Jackson Browne v. McCain Moves Forward
by Tamera H. Bennett UPDATE: The parties entered into a confidential settlement agreement and the case was dismissed on August 4, 2009.
posted February 24, 2008
The court in Browne v. McCain (Central Dist. Cal. CV 08-05334-RGK (Ex)) denied McCain's and The Republican National Committee's motion for summary judgment requesting a dismissal of the copyright infringement case brought by songwriter Jackson Browne. The court will also allow Browne's causes of action for Common Law Right of Publicity, Vicarious Copyright Infringement, and Violation of the Lanham Act to move forward.
The Court stated "Moreover, Senator McCain has not established that Plaintiff’s claim is barred, as a matter of law, under the fair use doctrine. The mere fact that Plaintiff’s claim is based on defendants’ use of his copyrighted work in a political campaign does not bar Plaintiff’s claim as a matter of law."
The Court dismissed all claims against the Ohio Republican Party, also named in the suit, for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Our original post on the topic is here. Posts involving music and the McCain Presidential campaign are here and here.
Read more from the Hollywood Reporter and from the Washington Post.
