Chuck DeVore's Don Henley Lawsuit: California Senate Candidate Loses Case Over Song Parody

In other California Senate primary news, perennial GOP also-ran Chuck DeVore is finishing out his campaign the way he's run it all along -- as an annoying burr in everyone's side.

DeVore has blazed a bright trail of haplessness throughout his run for the California Senate seat. He's gotten shirty with WaPo reporter Chris Cillizza over something called a "Shorty Award." He's been a bizarre Twitter oversharer. He's attempted to burnish his war cred by making himself out to be the target of a Hezbollah attack. He pretended that Jack Bauer is a real person whom he knew, in his real life. And while Carly Fiorina's famed "Demon Sheep" ad made no mention of DeVore's existence, no one in America has tried harder to horn in on the Demon Sheep mania.

And now? Well, now he's losing lawsuits to Don Henley.

Henley, who founded and fronted the popular 70s band The Eagles before launching a successful solo career, sued DeVore for parodying his solo hits for campaign ads, citing copyright infringement.

DeVore first released "The Boys of Summer" knock-off "Hope of November" in April 2009, which was pulled from YouTube after Henley complained. DeVore then shot back with a parody of "All She Wants to Do is Dance" called "All She Wants to Do is Tax."

Of course, in certain instances, this sort of borrowing is covered under fair use if the user intends to repurpose the original content for the purpose of satire. The judge in this case ruled, however, that because DeVore was not using the material to "comment on or criticize" the Henley originals, he wasn't entitled to that defense.

Naturally, DeVore is the first person in history to be successfully sued in this manner over a song parody, so great job.

Just for the sake of perspective, here's Mojo Nixon performing "Don Henley Must Die," a song that Don Henley actually likes.

MORE:
All He Wants To Do Is Sue: Judge Rules Chuck DeVore Unlawfully Adapted Don Henley Songs (VIDEO) [TPM]

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Comments

[lynettema]

10:35 PM on 06/03/2010

This is another in the list of GOP candidates who believe they are entitled to use any musician's song or songs in their campaign without permission from the composer or artist. Is this ignorance or arrogance or both.

[butterandflower]

11:51 PM on 06/08/2010

Yes.

[Jacksonian]

09:09 PM on 06/03/2010

Jason,

Even though you make your living off the evening news, I would never mistake you for a bubble-headed bleach-blonde (blond, maybe. Ok NOT).

Still -- I'm pretty sure I detected a gleam in your eye when you wrote about Mark Sanford's Hot Argentina Nights.

But I won't kick him when he's up or kick him when he's down just as long as someone somewhere keeps on airing the dirty laundry.

(I loves me some Jason Linkins)

:o)

[iMissMollyIvins]

06:05 PM on 06/03/2010

The only thing I know about Chuck DeVore is; he has a "Shorty" and he's proud of it. I doubt his wife feels the same.

[dtmfman]

08:26 AM on 06/09/2010

I miss molly too.....:{...I wonder what she would have said....

[Steve Wright 1]

04:54 PM on 06/03/2010

Jason Linkins and Huff Post, you are on the wrong side of this one. Copyright law is a huge problem that is stifling creativity and innovation. Your statement: "Naturally, DeVore is the first person in history to be successfully sued in this manner over a song parody, so great job." is misguided. It is a very narrow reading of parody that only allows it for works that are directly criticizing the original. Lawrence Lessig, a regular Huffington Post contributor, speaks very eloquently about this topic in is book Remix.

http://remix.lessig.org/

Henley is in the wrong here and is holding his art way too tightly. Henley is the artist. If he had a problem, he could have remixed something of DeVore's like many of the hysterical Bush speech remixes. We need to live in a would of ideas and not lawyers.

[ToddO in Texas]

06:52 PM on 06/03/2010

Faved! Wright on! sorry for the pun...

[lynettema]

10:37 PM on 06/03/2010

Don't agree. This is their livlihood and it is just like theft or shoplifting to take, and use, something that doesn't belong to you.

[Steve Wright 1]

12:38 AM on 06/04/2010

So, I fully understand that argument, but this was not steeling in any sense of the word. It is satire. It is really an homage to the original song in a perverse sort of way. DeVore (yes he is an idiot) is not claiming to have done anything but what he did, "remixed" Henley's song with his one take. It is true that the Supreme court has repeatedly ruled that while parody falls under fair use, satire does not. I guess I am simply saying that satire should fall under fair use. Our copyright law is far too restrictive, locking up artistic works in many cases (most cases now) well beyond the author's lifetime. I guess if you perceive a song or any work of art to be a widget then that is how it should be. To me, art has more resonance than that. It is right and just to protect an artists rights to earn a living from their work but there also should be a point where are becomes part of the commons. Lessig's work Free Culture explains it better than I can. http://www.free-culture.cc/ The reality is that all the money is going to the labels anyway. :)

[Freesia2]

04:06 PM on 06/03/2010

Oh did he pick the wrong person to steal music from. Don Henley is rabid about proprietary ownership of artistic materials. He goes before congress and the word Napster makes his eyeballs pop out of the socket.

What Chuckie did was stoopid. But the real stoopid part was choosing Don Henley to pilfer from. Mmm mmm mmm.

[Rogo99]

10:14 PM on 06/03/2010

Especially since he doesn't share his politics, too, I'm sure.