MC5's Wayne Kramer Files Lawsuit Against No On Prop 23 For Copyright Violation

Wayne Kramer

Former MC5 guitarist WAYNE KRAMER filed a complaint in CALIFORNIA CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT against the POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE NO ON PROP 23 for the unauthorized use of his image, taken from his historic performance at 1968’s FESTIVAL OF LIFE. 

The NO ON PROP 23 advertisements were part of a $105-million-dollar media blitz utilizing live footage of KRAMER as its opening scene. This well-known archival performance footage of the guitar hero appears prominently throughout his social media and YOUTUBE accounts. Its unauthorized use immediately caused confusion among rock fans around the world who assumed that KRAMER not only endorsed the NO vote, but also that he had had a prior “unmentionable” relationship with the female patient featured — as the advertisement implied.

Explained KRAMER, “It is and always has been solely my decision to endorse or oppose a vote using my face, my music, my performance — my values. I’m no stranger to political action, and it disgusts me that PROP 23’s
$100 million repository for marketing that was raised solely to force their vote did not include a plan to request my consent. It’s my hope that every artist reads this filing and concludes that the use of one’s image is incontrovertibly at the top of a short list of issues to use the courts to fight for. Control of how my face and performance is exploited – particularly where it involves enormous profit on the one hand or a legislative result on the other – is a vital argument for me.

“From the start, I have fiercely defended what my work represents. NO ON PROP-23’s PAC did not hold a license. They never bothered to ask for one. They had no consent from me at the time of the broadcasts, yet they proceeded anyway. I won’t permit the impact of this false endorsement to be undervalued, therefore, I’m left with no recourse but to litigate. I will do so vigorously, forcefully, with laser beam focus, and to the fullest extent possible.”

KRAMER concluded with trademark candidness: “Give me a break with your jive bullshit.”

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