Copyright Lawsuit: MGMT vs Sarkozy’s UMP Party

Hey look, French President Nicolas Sarkozy (in fairness, it’s his party not him) is being suing for unauthorized use of copyrighted material. We must admit that, initially, we didn’t know whether to side with the artists but we’re taking their side now when Sarkozy’s party offered to pay them just one euro. If that’s not rubbing insult to injury, we don’t know what is.

So, we say, go MGMT. Go get ‘em.

From BBC:

US indie duo MGMT have demanded compensation from the French President for using one of their hits as a campaign soundtrack without permission.

MGMT claim Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party used the track Kids at its national congress and in two online videos.

UMP has admitted using it, but said it was a mistake and has offered a symbolic gesture of one euro (£0.89).

But MGMT’s French lawyer Isabelle Wekstein rejected the offer, telling AFP the offer was “insulting”.

“This offer is disrespectful of the rights of artists and authors. It is insulting,” she said.

“We are dealing with acts of counterfeiting, an infringement of intellectual property.”

Ms Wekstein said the party paid a standard 53 euro fee (£47) to the French music licensing body.

However, she claimed the amount was not enough to cover subsequent uses of the rock track, particularly on the web.

The row comes a week before the French parliament starts examining a new law championed by Sarkozy’s party, pushing for tougher penalties for online piracy and file-sharing on the internet.

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