ST. PAUL, Minn. ABC Sports and ESPN didn’t give Tim Pawlenty permission to use the famous Miracle on Ice USA Hockey footage, but the former Minnesota governor’s campaign hasn’t been asked to remove any footage.
In his TV ad titled “The American Comeback” Pawlenty hoped to get a boost in the polls by positioning himself as an underdog, like the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. But Louise Argianas, director of rights and clearances for ABC Sports, said the Pawlenty campaign violated copyright and would be issued a ceaseanddesist letter. “It’s a violation of our copyright and exclusive proprietary rights,” Argianas told the Des Moines Register.
“All of our campaign television advertising is carefully reviewed by the campaign’s lawyers to ensure compliance with the copyright laws, the federal election laws, and other legal provisions,” Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant said in a statement. “The campaign’s Miracle on Ice advertisement was carefully reviewed for legal compliance and we believe fully complies with the ‘fair use’ doctrine. We respect ABC’s concern and look forward to responding to their inquiry.” ESPN issued a statement of its own, saying the campaign didn’t have permission to use the video:
“Neither ABC nor ESPN has asked the Pawlenty campaign to remove any footage from their video, although neither ABC nor ESPN licensed the video to them or authorized its use.”
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