EXCLUSIVE: DeVore and Free Speech Win Round One Vs. Don Henley
by Big HollywoodOn April 1, California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s campaign for U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer released the YouTube, “After the Hope of November is Gone,” a parody video based on Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” The video criticized President Obama and mocked celebs like Henley who have been made “crazy” with desire over the President.
It took just six days for Henley to file a copyright claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and YouTube immediately took the video down.
–
Refusing to be intimidated, DeVore fired back with a DMCA counter-notification and on April 14th created another YouTube parody aimed at Boxer’s support for cap-and-trade. ”All She Wants to do is Tax” is based Henley’s “All She Wants to do is Dance” and immediately began racking up 10,000 views a day.
Though he doesn’t hold the rights to ”Dance,” Henley filed a federal suit against DeVore and encouraged the true copyright holder to file a copyright infringement complaint with YouTube. Within a few days YouTube took DeVore’s second video down. Then DeVore caught Henley off guard and fought back with a counter-suit claiming Henley was infringing on his First Amendment right to political parody.
Back and forth legal machinations kept DeVore’s “After the Hope of November is Gone” off the Net until DeVore filed a counter-notification with YouTube to restore the parody video on the grounds Henley had no rights to ”All She Wants to do is Dance,” and therefore no right to file any kind of complaint.
Wednesday, August 5th, ten days after the counter-notification window expired for the actual copyright holder to sue DeVore in federal court, YouTube had no choice but to unblock DeVore’s parody. With the energy tax disguised as cap-and-trade sitting in a Senate committee that Barbara Boxer chairs, the timing couldn’t be better.
Choice excerpts from “All She Wants to do is Tax“:
Well, the government rigged the market
in the carbon trading scam
And all she wants to do is tax, tax
To keep the boys a sellin’
All the credits they could ma’am
And all she wants to do is tax
But that don’t keep the boys
From makin’ a buck or two
And all she wants to do is tax, tax
They still can sell the public
On the good that they can do
And all she wants to do is-
And all she wants to do is tax
And break our backs
DeVore referring to Boxer as “Ma’am” came a full two months before her now infamous dressing down of General Walsh for calling her “Ma’am” instead of “Senator” during his testimony before her committee.
“All She Wants to do is Tax” is but one part of a broader DeVore campaign effort to stop cap-and-trade that has already generated over 10,000 faxes into the U.S. Senate: www.taxfax.us.
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80 Comments
I love it when the tables are turned on self absorbed clowns from both parties…..
New sign: Free to parody!
Great Job!!!
For years, Republicans have backed off and apologized, whenever confronted. By trying to not be seen as mean-spirited, they have essentially surrendered. Its good to see the pushback now on so many fronts.
Also good to see union goon security coming to a town hall meeting near you. Monterey Folk Fest time.
Way to fight back, and since it's not health care related, they can't/shouldn't report you to the Big, er, White House for misinformation either.
Awesome! Congratulations to Mr. DeVore! I too have the distinction of having an interview of me removed from YouTube. I can't say why, it was just an interview by a fellow artist who is not a conservative, but because my work does not follow in lock step with the self loathing American art community and my friend had music in the interview…someone did what liberals do-practice censorship on those who are not towing the line. I'm sure my friend would not like the attention, so I've left it alone. But thanks to people like Mr. DeVore, we have proof we shouldn't be intimidated.
Legal or not, it's still wrong to capitalize on someone else's hard work and creativity. DeVore should just write his own songs with his own melodies, and quit stealing somebody else's work.
"A good artist borrows, a great artist steals" Pablo Picasso
Yeah, I'm sure you were hot on the trail of all the skits by liberals that borrowed "someone else's hard work and creativity".
Barbar Boxer: a raving liberal elitist with a bad highlight job.
Barbara Boxer: a raving liberal elitist with a bad highlight job.
It's one thing to be inspired by an artist or his creation, it's another to copy it wholesale for your own purposes. It's just wrong. You can't weasel it right. And no, I'm not making excuses for anybody, or pointing out other cases. I'm only responding to the subject of this blog post.
Yeah!
Parody is a protected form of free speech, as I understand it. Profitting by using someone else's work, unaltered, is illegal. DeVore is not pirating music to sell on the black market, nor is he making money from his parodies. Henley is not losing money because of DeVore. If anything, the publicity should be helping him.
Sorry, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with creating a parody based on an existing song. Makes the whole thing a lot more entertaining and compelling.
Thanks! I had no idea you were the last word on what is appropriate for all artists, the creative process and the work itself. Good luck to your students!
Not to mention he used the music. there was nothing wholesale about it!
What I know is right from wrong. Stealing is stealing. No matter how justified you think you are. Or how noble you think your purpose is.
My comments were for Bill. I agree with Nathan and Bob.
I like Henley's and the Eagles music a lot
Their politics suck tho
Like Ingraham has always said
"Shut up and sing"
Check out some great political parody songs here: http://www.myspace.com/rogerweber
If you're fed up with the lefties, you'll feel better
Should you obtain permission from the creator, yes I agree. Weird Al Yankovic (sp?) always contacts the creators before creating his parodies. But DeVore is simply capitalizing on somebody else's success and then using it for his own. Without their consent. That's just morally wrong. It's not a legal thing, it's an ethical thing. Sorry, I'm being such a pain in the ass. It's just what I believe.
http://www.lauraingraham.com/
A good conservative woman
You gotta fight!
For your right!
To parody!
I like "Barbar" better.
So, is this the first time you've been disturbed by this sort of political parody, or are you only outraged when it comes from the Right? It would help your credibility if you had a track record of taking the same umbrage when the Left "steals" in this fashion, and if you could demonstrate such.
That's just not true. Do you think wierd Al is wrong to make millions off his songs? This is done all the time, Henley's just doing the typical liberal thing, "What is good for me is not good for thee." I find his holier than thou attitude laughable-a man that sold his supposedly pure ideals out to what he demonizes, the evil corporate world. A man that spent his youth drugged out and encouraging his girlfriends to have abortions, etc. now wants to tell Americans how to live. Good for Mr. DeVore-we're finally learning to shove back!
What you believe is wrong. That would make it wrong for me to use any movie quote in order to crack a joke or make a point….
and
"That's the moist ridiculous thing I evah hoid!!"
By the way, you can edit your own posts, fix typos etc…
I used to watch Wierd Al Yankovich do "his" thing in front of stores in Westwood before he became famous. I'm pretty sure he didn't ask for permission from anyone until he was making very good money and had to protect himself. What is it you're missing about parody or appropriation. I don't think based on your responses that you are just messing with people here, but I do think you're misguided on this issue.
About time someone starting using the lib's own weapons agains them.
About time someone starting using the lib's own weapons against them.
Without parody, we wouldn't have Wierd Al.
Or Chis Isaak:
"But I should say that I, and the rest of entertainers, don't know a god-durned nothing about policies. We're too busy self-aggrandizing to come up with any solutions. It's amazing how many entertainers can find time between adopting children to tell you how to live your life. "
There is nothing morally wrong about it. Weird Al does it just to remain close to the people whose songs he parodies. I think you're making too much of an issue about this. Parody in songs has been a non issue for well over a decade now.
then how do you explain cover bands in clubs and bars? They do not pay royalties on the songs they perform.
This has nothing to do with left and right, but right and wrong. Really? I'm not allowed to respond to this blog post if I haven't responded to other blog posts? That's BS. That's somebody looking to excuse unethical behavior.
Sorry, but I think the use of another's intellectual property (for want of a better term) without their consent, is wrong. Again, I'm not saying is legal or illegal. Just morally wrong. It doesn't matter if its a conservative performing the deed or a liberal. It's just as wrong.
Last post. Having been shouted down, I'll go away now.
Why isn,t Larry Flynt jumping on this? didnt he push parody into the SCOTUS, and won, Oh yeah I forgot , He's a Libertard
Indeed, Wierd Al does all he can to contact and obtain permission (and sometimes cooperation) with the original creators, but as mentioned above, he is using profiting from the use of said original works. A political parody being used to transmit a message, that is NOT being sold in any way or earning $$$ for the user is not an infringement of copyrighted material.
I understand that we will probably disagree on this issue so I do respect your stance on what you believe to be on moral grounds.
Barbara The Yenta Boxer should be smearing cream-cheese on Bagels in some Deli in Brooklyn. Hey Barbara don't be shy with the Lox after all your not paying for it…………………………She's got no sense of Humor. Yeah she's a Far-Lefty.
Indeed, at least they have talent when it comes to their artistic ways and their songs typically are not in your face leftist. Wierd how their politics truly are when they do songs like "Dirty Laundry" and "Get Over It".
Neither illegal or unethical:
"The disparities in theme, content and style between the original lyrics and the alleged infringements could hardly be greater. In the vast majority of cases, the rhyme scheme of the parodies bears no relationship whatsoever to that of the originals. While brief phrases of the original lyrics were occasionally injected into the parodies, this practice would seem necessary if the defendants' efforts were to 'recall or conjure up' the originals; the humorous effect achieved when a familiar line is interposed in a totally incongruous setting, traditionally a tool of parodists, scarcely amounts to a 'substantial' taking, if that standard is not to be woodenly applied. Similarly, the fact that defendants' parodies were written in the same meter as plaintiffs' compositions would seem inevitable if the original was to be recognized, but such a justification is not even necessary; we doubt that even so eminent a composer as plaintiff Irving Berlin should be permitted to claim a property interest in iambic pentameter." – Irving Berlin vs. E.C. Publications 329 F. 2d 541 (2d Cir. 1964)
Nobody said you "weren't allowed," but in my case I was only suggesting that you would be more credible if you had shown that you had similarly responded to "unethical behavior" from the Left. Claiming that someone is saying you're "not allowed" and that they're "shouting you down" tells me all I need to know about your lofty sense of morality and ethics.
Hope to see you on the Senate floor doing a break dance of Parodies! "I broke Barbs back"may be a title you can do! Franken could do his crying baby routine.
Wierd Al Yankovic
You were e-shouted down? LOL
Amazing some say it's stealing someone else's work, when a dem will not only do the same thing, but alter it to make it look like someone is saying or believing one thing as compared to another. For instance, ABC news took a clip of Pastor Fred Price from Los Angeles, California and made it look like he was a money grubbing nut, but the full clip showed that he was talking about something completely different. They spent an inordinate amount of time smearing innocent people, but after pressured with a lawsuit gave a nine second "I'm sorry" and went on their way.
Its time we throw this malcontent out of office for good. These animals can't understand WE THE PEOPLE have the damn right to confront them and demand from them why they are loyal to this party of death and this chicago thug and not the people that pay their salaries. These nazis wannabes have the nerve to call us a 'MOB" when we are doing our civic duty and being vigilant. THROW these sons of bitches out of office that is the only thing that will send them back to reality. We own their asses and if they don't do what the majority wants, FIRED THEM.
We have bought in to the MSM meme that conservatives are mean, powerhungry and selfish and have compensated by trying to be "nice" and non-confrontational. Just like dealing with totalitarians and thugs, our kindness has been mistaken for weakness and our enemies have just pushed harder.
Someone used CAPS LOCK?
Boxer looks like a scareacrow, she should be working in a brassier shop in Brooklyn. When she speaks it sounds likeCAW CAW CAW.How this piece of work ever got elected is a mystery.
Does this DeVore guy have any chance of actually unseating Boxer? That would be a treat.
I'm not altogether sure that writing juvenile parody songs is the way to do it.
DeVore has my vote! Great job Chuck…………………..
That's pretty funny. Why Brooklyn?
Way to fight those Commies!!!
Just back from a little web research. I'll answer my own question: not a freakin' snowball's chance. Too bad.
I guarantee this won't stand. The "Legal System" will make sure it's taken down again within the next week.
Check out Jethro Tulls song "We Used To Know" on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgO7MamJnqM
Released in 1969. Sound familiar?
Ted is right ON!!! Wierd Al has made an entire career out of this very thing.
Right. sure. You're just upset because someone took aim at your precious liberalism. Boo hoo.
As someone else said, you're not commenting on the numerous parodies that libs have aimed at conservatives over the years. Oh, I forgot. You're only commenting on the subject of this article. How convenient.
Ohhhhh, the liberals SO hate it when we beat them at their own game.
LOL
From wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin_et_al….
Irving Berlin et al. v. E.C. Publications, Inc., 329 F.2d 541 (2d Cir. 1964), was an important parody/copyright law case decided in 1964 which created the "Mad Magazine exception". Mad Magazine had published a volume titled The Worst from Mad No. 4, in which were included a number of parody lyrics to existing songs, including Berlin's "A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody" (Mad's version, "Louella Schwartz Describes Her Malady.") The music corporations sued Mad for one dollar per song for each issue of The Worst from Mad No. 4 published, totaling $25 million in alleged damages. . The court found for Mad publisher E.C., establishing a legal precedent protecting parody (but not, at that time, satire).
So ruled the trial court on all but two songs, "There's No Business Like No Business" and "Always," which they decided were too close to the originals. The plaintiffs took the case to the Circuit Court, which ruled for Mad for all 25 songs, not just the 23 approved by the trial court. Then the music companies appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear the case at all, thus sustaining the circuit court's ruling.[1][2]
See also http://cip.law.ucla.edu/cases/case_berlin_ec.html
good one! but clearly an infringement, harrumph, harrumph…
have none of these tight-a$$ed killjoys ever seen The Capitol Steps?
Bill wrote: "What I know is right from wrong. Stealing is stealing. No matter how justified you think you are. Or how noble you think your purpose is."
So then explain welfare, and housing subsidies, and… the list goes on forever.. Forcefully taking a portion of what I earn, away from my children's education, from my future retirement, from my peace of mind knowing I have a few bucks to fall back on when everything comes crashing down, and giving it to those who refuse to work, or refused to go to school, or… whatever.
I didn't cause their problem. Why must I pull them out of the quagmire of their own making? No matter how noble you may feel it is to help, stealing is stealing.
I understand the most recent Eagles comeback album was more pointedly political. I didn't bother with it. I'll just pretend Hell Freezes Over was the end. They booted Don Felder before they recorded that record, so I don't need it anyway.
Love most of the Eagles songs and their solo work, though. The Boys of Summer is one of my all-time favorites, along with Sunset Grill. End of the Innocence was a "Reagan = BAD" song, though.
This country is on the brink of being ripped apart. The Liberals' Union goon squads will try and crush any resistance to their destruction of this country. It's going to get ugly, very ugly….and bloody.
Yeah, I pretty much called it at Hell Freezes Over as well.
I wouldn't want her touching my bagels, no how!
You have a point. The thought of it does put a cramp in your appetite.
Sorry, I had hoped to walk away. But this is just an itch I have to scratch.
I believe that respect for personal property – both tangible and intellectual, is one of the core tenants of conservatism. It appears that most folks responding to this thread feel that it's OK to steal somebody's property as long as it's only used to make fun of somebody. I disagree. This time it really is my last post. I've learned my lesson though. I'll never post again.
She gives us cramps all right.
If being nice gets you stepped on, why bother?
Hope to see you on the Senate floor doing a break dance of Parodies! "I broke Barbs back"may be a title you can do! Franken could do his crying baby routine.
"Win One for the Gipper"
As a Californian who has been "represented" by Boxer for almost two decades, I encourage all of you to please go to Chuck's site and support him!
http://www.chuckdevore.com/
Hey, wasn't I just talking about this kind of thing?
http://roguewavelength.blogspot.com/2009/07/you-c...
Liberals… So predictable, and such easily pushed buttons.
That's really really white and nerdy.
Henley's just jealous because this guy's got a better singing voice!
Guilty as accused, and daring to be stupid.
How the hell do you explain Weird Al???
Get a grip troll…
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