“Soul Man,” a song written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, has been popularized by the
likes of Sam and Dave and the Blues Brothers. Hoping some of the song’s popularity
would rub off on them, the Dole campaign changed the song’s chorus to “...I’m a Dole
man...” and played it extensively at rallies. In a letter dated August 29, 1996, Rondor
Music International, Inc., which owns the rights to the song, asks the Dole-Kemp
campaign to stop using "Soul Man" without permission. Rondor says they “find it
particularly shocking that someone who aspires to hold the highest elected office in this
country would so flagrantly disregard the exclusive rights granted to authors by the
United States Constitution." Without conceding that it had violated Rondor's rights, the
Dole campaign has agreed to stop using the song.
RONDOR
Mary Lee Ryan
VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS AFFAIRS
August 29, 1996
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED P 999 023 856
Mr. Bob Dole
Dole/Kemp '96
810 First Street N.E.
Suite 300
Washington D.C. 20002
Re: "SOUL MAN" (Isaac Hayes/David Porter)
Dear Mr. Dole:
We are the co-owners and co-administrators of the musical composition entitled "Soul
Man," which is written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and co-owned and co-
administered by Warner/Chappell Music d/b/a Walden Music Inc. (hereinafter referred to
as the "Musical Composition"). We also have the exclusive right to administer our
portion of the Musical Composition.
We recently have been informed that an unauthorized, altered version of the Musical
Composition has been recorded on your behalf and is being publicly performed in
synchronization with your campaign events, some of which were broadcast on national
television, all without our consent or authorization. By changing the chorus of the
Musical Composition to "...I'm a Dole man...," from the original chorus "...I'm a soul
man...," without our consent or authorization, an unauthorized derivative work has been
created.
This unauthorized use of the Musical Composition and creation of a derivative work
without permission and in violation of the owner's rights, is tantamount to theft. We find
it particularly shocking that someone who aspires to hold the highest elected office in this
country would so flagrantly disregard the exclusive rights granted to authors by the
United States Constitution (Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 8) which are set forth in the United States
Copyright Acts of 1976, which was debated and enacted while you were a member of
Congress.
Pursuant to Section 106 of The United States Copyright Act of 1976, as the administrator
of the Musical Composition, we retain the exclusive right to license the Musical
Composition for recording, synchronization and performance, and we also retain the
exclusive right to approve or decline any proposed derivative works (i.e. changes of
lyrics) of the Musical Composition. We are not aware of any license which has been
granted to you for the synchronization and/or change of lyrics to the Musical
Composition as embodied in your campaign events.
You are hereby advised that the foregoing conduct by you is unauthorized and infringes
our copyright and other statutory and common law rights in and to the Musical
Composition. Your use of the Musical Composition constitutes willful infringement of
copyright, exposing you to liability for statutory damages up to $100,000 for each
infringement of copyright, as well as injunctive relief, attorneys' fees and costs. Further,
your use of our property conveys the false implication that the authors and owners of the
Musical Composition endorse your campaign, which gives rise to claims under the
Lanham Act. This combination of copyright infringement and Lanham Act violations has
seriously damaged the value of the Musical Composition. For the foregoing reasons,
most authors require and we agree, to consult with them prior to licensing the use of a
song in connection with a political campaign. We have never agreed to license any of our
songs for use in a political campaign due to the devastating impact it would have on the
value of the song.
Demand is hereby made that you immediately cease and desist from using the Musical
Composition. In addition, and in order for us to assess the damages resulting from your
unauthorized activities, demand is hereby made that you immediately provide us with
documentation setting forth a complete description of all of your past uses of the Musical
Composition, including, without limitation, a complete list of the times, dates and
locations of each campaign event at which the Musical Composition was used, a
complete list of all television stations and networks on which said campaign events were
broadcast, a description of your use(s) of the Musical Composition at each of said
campaign events, including, without limitation, the timing(s) and point(s) during the
campaign events in which the Musical Composition was used, information as to whether
the Musical Composition was performed live or pre-recorded for use at the campaign
events and VHS videotape recorded excerpts of said campaign events including the uses
of the Musical Composition.
In the event that this matter is not resolved to our satisfaction within ten (10) business
days of this date, we will proceed appropriately to protect all of our rights. We trust that
this will not be necessary. If you have any questions regarding the contents of this letter,
please contact me immediately.
Nothing contained herein or omitted herefrom shall constitute a waiver or relinquishment
of any of our rights or remedies, or of any statements of fact, in connection with this
matter, all of which are hereby expressly reserved.
Sincerely,
/s/
Mary Lee Ryan
Vice President
Business Affairs
cc:
Herb Alpert
Jerry Moss
Lance Freed
Isaac Hayes
David Porter
Les Bider
Donald Biederman, Esq.
Jack Rosner
Haley Barbour (via certified mail)
DOLE/KEMP
September 11, 1996
Via Facsimile (310) 289-4091
Ms. Mary Lee Ryan
Vice President, Business Affairs
Rondor Music International, Inc.
360 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90048
Dear Ms. Ryan:
We are in receipt of your letter postmarked September 4, 1996 regarding the use by the
Dole/Kemp Campaign (the "Campaign") of the non-dramatic musical work entitled "Soul
Man" (the "Musical Composition").
While the Campaign does not concede that it has violated any rights of Rondor Music
International, Inc. ("Rondor"), in order to resolve this matter amicably, the campaign has
decided to suspend play of the Musical Composition and will instruct any live performers
retained by the campaign not to perform the Musical Composition (with or without the
use of the chorus "I'm a Dole Man"). We have provided similar instructions regarding use
of the lyrics written by Sam Moore on his own initiative.
In order to bring this matter to closure, it is important that all interested parties participate
in any further discussions. In that regard, we note that it remains unclear form your letter,
and particularly from your statement "our portion of the Musical Composition", the
specific rights that Rondor holds, and whether any individual composers or lyricists also
retain any rights in the Musical Composition.
Please call me at your earliest convenience so that we can discuss Rondor's concerns and
the steps that the campaign has taken.
Sincerely,
/s/
Douglas C. Wurth
General Counsel
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