Fair Use and Licensing of Media Used By Campaigns

Politico.com provides an informative report regarding the licensing and use of music and other media for campaigns under federal copyright and trademark laws where property rights clash with free and unfettered political speech. This often overlooked area of law, as it relates to elections, arises every year as musicians, photographers, authors and other intellectual property owners claim that their works or products are being illegally used in the course of a political campaign. This clash of property versus political speech rights has grown with the proliferation of campaigning on the Internet.

One of the best resources for more information on fair use is Standford University's Copyright & Fair Use Library sponsored by the Stanford Law School's Center for the Internet & Society.