CCIA: Fox News owes McCain and American Voters an Apology

File Under: News, 2007, Copyright

Oct 26, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Background: Sen. John McCain is using 19 seconds of video featuring himself as part of a campaign ad. The snippet, taken from a debate hosted by Fox News, clearly lies within the realm of lawful and fair use of Fox News’ broadcast. Fox, nonetheless, has demanded that the McCain campaign cease using footage of its own candidate. The following should be attributed to Computer & Communications Industry Association President & CEO Ed Black.
 
“Fox’s assertion that Sen. John McCain has violated its copyrights by using 19 seconds of a presidential debate in a campaign ad shows once again how far the credibility of Big Content has fallen.

“U.S. copyright law is explicit in its support for the limited reuse use of copyrighted material for political discussion and debate. This cease and desist letter strikes at the heart of political discourse itself and shows just how extreme the agenda of copyright maximalism has become.

“Exaggerated claims such as these formed the basis of our recent complaint to the Federal Trade Commission regarding a pattern of copyright abuse in DVD sales. (http://www.defendfairuse.org/ftc_complaint.html) This latest action echoes the sort of abuse seen in other segments of Big Content and underlines the need for prompt action by the FTC.

“CCIA calls on Fox News to show just how fair and balanced it can be. The network should withdraw its demand and apologize to the McCain campaign and the entire American voting public for this sad episode.”