[Retief]

I you sure ABC is correct on this? Doesn't the use of the ABC footage by the Swiftees fall under the Fair Use exception to copyright law?

Specifically, you can quote or copy limited portions of a copyrighted work, such that the portions you copy is "fair use"?

[LuckyHat]

My point was that it does not matter.

ABC, CBS, and NBC have made an art-form out of ignoring the SBVets story. This will force them to report it and possibly even to show the commercial to shoe their case. Controversy, in this case, is good. So, either their is controversy publicizing the Swift Boat cause or the networks let them use the film. Either way, the SBVets win.

After the election, if the networks sue, the case will linger in the courts for years costing the networks a ton of money, but the beneficial effect on the Swift Boat Vets will be immediate.

It is a good strategy. It puts the networks between a rock and a hard place.

[Flint]

Don't copyrights expire after 20 years or something. I know that songs are used in commercials all the time and after some period of time the copyright on the song expires and they move into the public domain. At that point the song can be used by anyone without paying for it's use.