What a Rush
Via a Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog! Go! exclusive, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neal Peart of Rush have asked Rush Limbaugh to stop using their magnificent music on his Hate Show.
Yesterday, I contacted Anthem Entertainment and Rush (the band) about Rush Limbaugh’s airing of its music on his show, and today I was exclusively informed that the legendary Canadian rock group has formally demanded that the Rush Limbaugh Program stop using its music on the air.For years now, Rush Limbaugh has been playing Rush music (get it?) as bumpers out of his commercial breaks, including the tracks “Bravado” and “The Spirit of Radio”. In fact, when Limbaugh attacked Sandra Fluke and remarked about seeing sex tapes of Fluke in exchange for birth control pills, Limbaugh was playing the popular Rush track “The Spirit of Radio” under his rant.
Thankfully, that ends today.
Here’s an excerpt from the letter (pdf) their lawyer sent the excremental talk show host:
The use of Rush’s music in this way is an infringement of Rush’s copyrights and trademarks. The public performance of Rush’s music is not licensed for political purposes and any such use is in breach of public performance licenses and constitutes copyright infringement. There are civil and criminal remedies for copyright infringement, including statutory damages and fines. […]In addition, the use of Rush’s music in this manner implies an endorsement of the views expressed and products advertised on the show, and is in breach of not only copyright and trademark rights, but also, of section 51 of the New York Civil Rights Law (excerpt attached).
Accordingly, we hereby demand that you immediately stop all use of Rush’s music and confirm that you will do so.
I would have added “suck it, bitches” but that’s just me.
Major kudos to Bob Cesca for helping make this happen.
[Image credit: Kesoundman | Wikimedia Commons]
