CNN: Publisher peeved at political parody. - Jul. 26, 2004

Publisher peeved at political parody. - Jul. 26, 2004: "NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - With something as fun as a cartoon Bush and Kerry hurling musical epithets at one another, you knew lawyers would have to get involved.
And, unfortunately for JibJab.com, they have.
You know the Jibjab thing I'm talking about, right? The flash animation movie swirling around the Internet with President George Bush and Senator John Kerry singing to the tune of Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land.'

Bush: 'You're a liberal sissy!'
Kerry: 'You're a right wing nut job!'
Both: 'This land will surely vote for me!'

The bit is hilarious.

Unless you are The Richmond Organization, a music publisher that owns the copyright to Guthrie's tune through its Ludlow Music unit.
'This puts a completely different spin on the song,' said Kathryn Ostien, director of copyright licensing for the publisher. 'The damage to the song is huge.'

TRO believes that the Jibjab creation threatens to corrupt Guthrie's classic -- an icon of Americana -- by tying it to a political joke; upon hearing the music people would think about the yucks, not Guthrie's unifying message. The publisher wants Jibjab to stop distribution of the flash movie.

Of course the creators behind Jibjab don't agree."