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The station says it doesn’t allow its news material to be used by political advocacy groups.

By MATT WICKENHEISER, Staff Writer October 21, 2009

PORTLAND — National Public Radio is demanding that a political action committee stop using NPR content in a political ad pushing for repeal of Maine's same-sex marriage law.

Stand for Marriage Maine, the group behind referendum Question 1, which calls for the law's repeal, began airing the ad on television stations and the Internet on Oct. 16.

The ad suggests that gay relationships and gay sex could be discussed in Maine schools if the law is not overturned. The ad uses audio from a story titled, "Massachusetts Schools Grapple with Including Gay & Lesbian Relationships in Sex Education," which aired on an episode of NPR's "All Things Considered" on Sept. 13, 2004.

NPR did not license use of the story or its content and "would certainly not have licensed or permitted it if we had been asked," said Dana Davis Rehm, NPR's senior vice president for marketing, communications and external relations. Rehm said the ad constitutes copyright infringement.

NPR doesn't allow its content to be used by political or advocacy groups, Rehm said, though it does allow personal, non-commercial use of its content as long as it is not modified, "and not used in a manner that suggests NPR promotes or endorses a cause, idea, Web site, product or service," Rehm said. Rehm said Stand for Marriage Maine violated those terms.

"If the content were being used for the other side of the issue, we would have to take the same steps, and would," said Rehm. "A partisan issue, a political issue of any kind – that's prohibited by our terms of use. We can't possibly permit it under any circumstances as a news organization. It's a huge issue of credibility and trust."

Scott Fish, spokesman for Stand for Marriage Maine, said the PAC's legal counsel and executive committee were reviewing NPR's cease-and-desist demand. He had no further comment.

NPR also sent a cease-and-desist letter to Schubert Flint, the PAC's California-based public relations consultant. Rehm said the firm had acknowledged receipt of the letter and had indicated they would be "back in touch." Schubert Flint did not return a call for comment.

Rehm said NPR has sent a "take down notice" to YouTube, which was broadcasting a video of the commercial, and to "hotdaddy," the company that was hosting the video.

The video was no longer available through YouTube on Tuesday. It was still available on Stand for Marriage Maine's Web site, Rehm said, and she was trying to find out what company was providing the online video so NPR could contact it to give warning.

Rehm said the ad's use of the NPR story goes beyond fair use, the legal concept that allows use of small amounts of copyrighted material in certain situations, including political ads.

"The use of the ('All Things Considered') story was a very central piece of the ad," said Rehm. "It wasn't a small quote, or a quote among a series of quotes as often would appear in a fair-use situation."

Rehm said NPR's content is sometimes used in fair-use situations. In those cases, the organization would have little or no say in the use.

But, she said, more extensive use such as in the Stand for Marriage Maine ad happens rarely, and hasn't occured in several years.

NPR hasn't yet contacted any television stations running the ad, choosing to work through the PAC and Schubert Flint first, Rehm said.

A listener in Maine who has been volunteering for the No on 1 campaign, which supports the same-sex marriage law, brought the ad to NPR's attention, the station said.

Mark Sullivan, spokesman for No on 1, said the volunteer acted on his own.

"We knew nothing about it – it's not something we'd be involved in," he said.

Sullivan said the campaign had no further comment.

Rehm declined to speculate on what steps would be taken if the groups refuse to remove the ads.

"We're operating under the presumption that both parties...