JibJab troubles over "This Land is My Land" video
 

http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/26/comm...stler/wastler/

A Jibjab showdown
Bush-Kerry parody draws the ire of the music publisher that owns the Guthrie song.
July 26, 2004: 11:54 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - With something as fun as a cartoon Bush and Kerry hurling musical epithets at one another, you knew lawyers would have to get involved.

And, unfortunately for JibJab.com, they have.

You know the Jibjab thing I'm talking about, right? The flash animation movie swirling around the Internet with President George Bush and Senator John Kerry singing to the tune of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."

Bush: "You're a liberal sissy!"

Kerry: "You're a right wing nut job!"

Both: "This land will surely vote for me!"

The bit is hilarious. Unless you are The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music unit.

"This puts a completely different spin on the song," said Kathryn Ostien, director of copyright licensing for the publisher. "The damage to the song is huge."

TRO believes that the Jibjab creation threatens to corrupt Guthrie's classic -- an icon of Americana -- by tying it to a political joke; upon hearing the music people would think about the yucks, not Guthrie's unifying message. The publisher wants Jibjab to stop distribution of the flash movie.

Of course the creators behind Jibjab don't agree.

"We consider it a case of political satire and parody and therefore entitled to the fair use exemption of the copyright act," said Jibjab attorney Ken Hertz.

So far there isn't a lot of money involved. The brothers who made the movie, Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, have been distributing it pretty much for free (a paid-download option was available, but abandoned as most folks went for the free-on-the-Internet route). But the two are getting a lot of media attention as more news organizations and talk shows feature the flash bit (I think CNN was first, by the way, when we featured it on "In The Money" in early July).

"We're just trying to catch our breath," said Gregg Spiridellis, before sending me on to his lawyer.

Right now lawyers for both sides are just hurling threatening letters at one another. If the dispute ends up in court, it'll be interesting.

TRO: "You've hurt our music!"

Jibjab: "You've got no humor!"

Both: "This judge will surely side with me!"


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Allen Wastler is managing editor for CNN/Money and a commentator on CNNfn.

Damn shame. That's probably my favorite flash Ive seen.

Another example of suits stealing music from us. If Woody Guthrie were alive today, he'd laugh his ass off at the jibjab version if he hadn't already written it himself. Those people who own the rights are the ones corrupting Guthrie's message. Fuckers!

In school they don't teach you all of the verses of "This Land is Your Land" but there are revolutionary and totally anti-establishment alternative verses (sorry, I can't find them to quote right now). He would hate people taking his music and using it against people just like him trying to send a message through satire, etc. Guthrie was always fucking with his own lyrics, changing them to suit whatever political commentary he wanted to make for whatever audience he was performing to.

Sigh.

Fucking idiots. Nobody even remembered that song until JibJab brought it back to popularity.

That's a parody so there isn't shit they can do about it.

Parody is a clearly protected form of free speach... no way jibjab will loose.

Never even knew there was actually a real song with the same title.

I think bush is behind it! :glugglug

i was thinking the same thing.

yup yup yup if its a parody they are 10000000000% safe, the fucks at TRO have no case and are just trying to gan some media attn, fuck um, and the rest like um. Has Weird Al ever been sued?

Has Mark Russel ever been sued???????? (He's the political piano man who takes all sorts of old songs and makes um political songs, and HE'S ON PBS!!!!!

-Loki-

It won't go to court... I went thru a similar case with Mastercard.

They will send letters back and forth and Jibjab will probably end up throwing up a link to the artist giving he/she props for the music.

DH

:D

but most people that do parody songs also limit them to what i have heard referred to as "parody length". maybe there is some legal precedence that sets some solid boudaries for what a song parody is?

that flash things was really good

Well as for that, The only thing that was used by Jib Jab was the music, the words were totaly changed except the chorus "This Land" Will surly vote for me.

Now the same can be said with the others that i mentioned, with the exception of Weird AL, who changes it a bit, and then makes most of it ryhme with the original.

As for guidelines that i do not know, I just know that a parody is excempt from (C) Laws, as it was discussed to me from a record company I deal with.


-Loki-

And they shouldn't even have to do that.... it's humor and should be protected....

:2 cents: