Not to give this totally extremist group any more publicity, but I have waited two weeks to post here,....and would appreciate the better 'talking heads' of this forum to communicate our disgust to QPL, Jim Beach, et al
short story long: last November, the voters of Maryland became the first state to vote on and approve gay marriage.
On January 2nd, gay couples could legally marry here.
The flag dragging, anti-military, anti-gay group from Colorado sent a couple of their (literally) inbred representatives to protest.
This is the same group who has demonstrated at soldiers' funerals in the USA....and, gawd forbid, can continue on link
To the crux of the issue: this group makes its money from individuals who attack them, and then they sue.
Well...my friends....they have no right to use a parody of BoRhap without QP's permission.
We were part of the 30-50 who stood outside of our county courthouse in freezing temps while 20 police kept the two sides separated. The officers were so...so...upset about those idiots, but when I tried to get closer to hear the lyrics WB was using, I was pushed away, because they did not want an incident.
I smiled at the WBs ridiculous behavior, music.....and yet....it was the first time where I wanted to cross the lines and just knock them right in the kisser.
Heart, Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen, REM, ....are a few of the many who have stopped groups/candidates from using their music where they did not want it to be used.
My wife and I ask all of you to send a message to QP, Jim Beach, Brian, Roger, John....Jackie and queenworld.com.....to fight fire with fire, and put a stop to their use of the greatest rock song of our lifetime.
thank you
joe+susan+denny+
It clearly belongs in the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour forum, because everybody knows that Bohemian Rhapsody is about Freddie's intense passion toward Paul, even though he knows it can never be since he has AIDS.
mooghead wrote:
This is NOT Queen Serious Discussion
as compared to what then, if I may ask?
Considering the source, you were not one of the trusted members I was reaching out to, so feel free to ignore this post without yet another of the typical responses we've come to expect.
btw........sorry that I did not use 'rainbow' in the subject header, guess that would have been more appropriate, eh?
As much as I sympathise with the dislike of Westboro, they actually may have had every right to use a parody of BoRhap.
Parody is protected from copyright laws specifically to avoid restricting free speech. Under US copyright law, if their parody included an element of commentary upon the original work (didn't hear the lyrics, so can't say if they did, but knowing that Phelps is a lawyer, I would not be surprised), then it would be protected under the "fair use" clause.
Secondly, political campaigns only run into copyright issues through the use of music in a live setting when they imply the endorsement of the artists who's music they use, what you are probably remembering is various campaigns getting into trouble for using music in campaign videos, which falls under a different copyright law altogether. Or perhaps you are remembering artists asking for the music not to be used and the political campaign complying voluntarily, nobody has actually ever brought legal proceedings against a campaign to prevent the use of music in a live setting because they would almost certainly lose. All the WBC would require to be able to legitimately use the track in a live setting (i.e. a protest) is a Public Performance License from a body like ASCAP, which are easy to get and provide you with blanket cover to perform whatever tracks (or parodies of tracks) you wish by whichever band you wish.
Unfortunately, Phelps may be a complete douche, but he isn't stupid enough to fall foul of the law like this.