John McCain's Intellectual Property Problem

John McCain says he's committed to protecting intellectual property. So why is he being repeatedly accused of stealing intellectual property for political gain?

In his brand new technology policy statement, McCain lists as one of his top priorities "effectively protecting American intellectual property in the United States and around the globe."

Yet for at least the third time, McCain's presidential campaign has been accused of using others' intellectual property without permission in a political attack ad that appeared online.

Yesterday, hours after McCain issued his technology platform, the pop musician Jackson Browne sued the candidate and the Republican National Committee in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for using his hit Running on Empty in an ad slamming opponent Barack Obama.

Browne is seeking a permanent injunction barring McCain from using any more of the singer's material, as well as damages.

A McCain spokesperson said Browne was suing the wrong people because the Ohio Republican Party produced the video.

Browne's lawyer, Lawrence Y. Iser, said that defense doesn't wash. "We have sued the Ohio Republican Party as well," he said, "and we have been informed and believe that McCain and his campaign were well aware of the ad.

"The fact that it appears on the internet means it also reaches an audience well beyond those states," Iser added.

Iser has a point. In the YouTube era, the fact that a particular state party makes a given ad for local broadcast doesn't matter much. Once a video goes viral on the Web, its origins become effectively irrelevant.

But Iser didn't stop there. He went on to accuse McCain of a repeated pattern of intellectual property theft.

"They used a John Mellencamp song until he made them stop, and he used an ABBA song and a Frankie Valli song -- it's ridiculous and it's setting a terrible example," Iser told the Los Angeles Times. "It's shocking that they don't even attempt to get permission. There's no copyright difference between using a song to sell cars or by people running for president."

Last month, Warner Music Group demanded that YouTube remove a McCain video in which a satirical song, Obama Love, was set to Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

Earlier this week, comedian Mike Myers accused McCain of copyright infringement for using the iconic Wayne's World line "We're Not Worthy!" in yet another ad attacking Obama.

Iser said the lawsuit isn't politically motivated, despite the fact that Browne is a longtime Democratic activist. "It's a copyright infringement lawsuit, pure and simple," he said, "but the fact that Sen. McCain has used this song in a hit-piece on Barack Obama is anathema to Jackson."

You can chalk this up to the entertainment industry's presumed bias against Republicans, or argue that if Obama were using the material in question, no one would care.

But for a candidate whose stated mission includes "effectively protecting American intellectual property in the United States and around the globe," McCain and his surrogates' repeated use of others' intellectual property without permission is careless at best; dishonest and hypocritical at worst.

Then again, a close reading of McCain's technology platform suggests he may not be such a staunch protector of intellectual property after all.

"Too much protection, can stifle the proliferation of important ideas and impair legitimate commerce in new products to the detriment of our entire economy," according to McCain's platform.

Or stifle the proliferation of John McCain's attack ads to the detriment of his political ambitions, anyway.

by Sam Gustin