Los Angeles - Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign has responded to a lawsuit from singer Jackson Browne, alleging copyright infringement for unauthorized use of his song "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad, by making a claim of "fair use," Wired.com reports.

Browne sued McCain's campaign back in August over the use of his song in an ad that ran in Ohio attacking Barack Obama's stance on gas prices.

In addition to disavowing any connection to the ad, which it says was created by the Ohio Republican Party, the McCain campaign added that the song's inclusion constituted a "fair use" of a copyright under established precedent.

"Given the political, non-commercial, public interest and transformative nature of the use of a long-ago published song, the miniscule amount used and the lack of any effect on the market for the song (other than perhaps to increase sales of the song), these claims are barred by the fair use doctrine," the McCain campaign statement reads.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Related Links:
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/11/john-mccain-fir.html

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/1119_browne_mccain_opt.pdf (PDF)