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Challenging a political ad comes too late to be of use in the Question 1 vote on Nov. 3, officials say.

By MATT WICKENHEISER, Staff Writer October 31, 2009

National Public Radio has decided not to take further legal steps against a Maine political action committee that used content from an NPR radio show in one of its television ads.

NPR sent cease-and-desist notices last week to Stand for Marriage Maine and its public relations consultant, Schubert Flint of California, claiming copyright violations. Stand for Marriage Maine is the political action committee that is campaigning to overturn Maine's new same-sex marriage law.

Both Stand for Marriage Maine and Schubert Flint quickly rejected the claims, and said the use of content from an "All Things Considered" radio show from 2004 was protected under the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law.

Marc Mutty, chairman of Stand for Marriage Maine, last week called NPR's complaint "ridiculous and frivolous."

In a written statement Friday, Dana Davis Rehm, executive vice president of marketing, communications and external relations for NPR, said the radio organization believes the PAC's use of content didn't meet fair use standards, because of the content used and the "effect of the use on the value of the content."

"NPR's audio content comprises virtually the entire length of the political ads, which clearly constitutes substantial use," said Davis Rehm. "The manner of use and presentation of this news spot undermines the journalistic value of the work and the reputation of NPR as a credible and unbiased news source."

But, Davis Rehm said, press coverage of the issue has let the public know of NPR's position. It also has let the public know that NPR didn't license the use, has no position on the issue, and would have taken similar steps with any advocacy or political group that used its news content in a similar way.

"With the election only days away, we've decided not to pursue further legal steps against Stand for Marriage Maine and the Schubert Flint agency at this time," said Davis Rehm. "Litigation is expensive and such actions move slowly through the court system, and we've determined this isn't the best use of our limited resources under these circumstances, despite high confidence that our position would prevail."

Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at:

mwickenheiser@pressherald.com