Tech Law Advisor

Country/Bluegrass legends The Carter Family records When the World's on Fire  (the song can be found on the box set, The Carter Family: 1927-34).

Woody Guthrie's classic song This Land is My Land (MP3 clip) recorded in 1940 as a Marxist protest song originally written as an answer to "God Bless America."

Guthrie allegedly appended the following Copyright Notice to the work:

This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don't give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that's all we wanted to do.

Guthrie dies in 1967.

Bush elected (sic) president in 2000.

introduced to internet poking fun at leaders of both political parties approximately July 2004. People laugh and email it to their friends.

Ludlow Music sends demand letter to Jibjab: Re: JibJab Media Unauthorized Use of 'This Land is Your Land' on July 23, 2004.

People discuss whether JibJab is parody or satire and whether it's protected as fair use under any of the following decisions: See e.g. Campbell v. Rose-Acuff [html]; Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin; Cat Is Not In The Hat case; 'Priceless' MasterCard case. See generally Marty Schwimmer, EFF, Copyfight, Ernest Miller, Chris Cohen, Lessig, Volokh, Reason, iptablog....

Kerry gets democratic nod on July 28, 2004 same day that EFF sends reply to Ludlow on JibJab's behalf: Re: Jib Jab Media, Inc. and Ludlow Music, Inc.

Discussions continue at Notes from Legal Underground....

EFF informs Ludlow Music on July 29, 2004 that "the entire melody, harmony, rhythm, and structure of "This Land is Your Land" doesn't belong to you", but rather to The Carter Family.

EFF files suit to defend JibJab's fair use and free speech rights....

Woody's son Arlo on JibJab [on NPR via Importance]:

A. Well, I really can't speak for him. I can just tell you that when I saw it a few weeks ago I thought it was one of the funniest commentaries if not one of the most directly inspired... I called my sister, I called my friends, I sent everybody a link to the site so that they could go see it. And we've all been laughing about it since then. I think my dad would have absolutely loved the humor in it.

JibJab launches blogger blog

Cathy Guthrie opines on the JibJab parody of her grandfather's song:

If they start selling that song and making money, then I might be concerned about getting my royalties, but as far as I know, they haven't made any money from showing it on their site for free. That parody was made for you and me.

[via boingboing]