The rock band Rush has sent Kentucky Republican Senate nominee Rand Paul a distant early warning: stop using our music.
Paul, who has quickly stepped into the limelight, used the Rush song “Tom Sawyer” in a Web video, and his campaign has also played “The Spirit of Radio” at a rally. In a far cry from the conservative Paul’s discussion of protecting private property rights, his campaign actually used the libertarian-minded band’s intellectual property without permission, attracting a letter from the band’s lawyer for his attempt to get something for nothing.
The Web video using “Tom Sawyer” has already had its audio track disabled, after a complaint by Rush’s attorney Robert Farmer. “This is not a political issue — this is a copyright issue,” Farmer told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “We would do this no matter who it is.” Farmer also pointed out that Rush are not Americans — they are Canadians, so the squabbles of American politics are not particularly closer to the heart for them.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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