THE RE-ELECTION committee of an incumbent governor produces a commercial using a song of a well-known artist/composer as its theme. The commercial is broadcast before a deal is struck with the artist/composer. The artist/composer not only denies the use, but demands the commercial be pulled and receives a hefty payment in lieu of a threatened copyright infringement suit for the unauthorized uses.

A CELEBRITY HOST co-produces a one-run, syndicated TV sports special and wants to underscore parts of the show with instrumental music by his favorite artist. The host rejects music from a production library as being too pedestrian, and insists that his personal relationship with the artist should forestall any problems in making a deal. The show's deadline passes with no response from the artist, and the tracks are used. Four months later the artist's attorney responds with a demand of $50,000. The library of music would have cost $750. The host telephones his regrets to his former co-producers from the set of his new project. At a recent national auto show, a major automobile manufacturer rolls out its latest concept car to the strains of a well-known heavy metal song. While the producers of the event assumed that there was no problem playing the music live, they forgot that hundreds of news cameras were rolling to capture the event, and footage of this dramatic new car introduction was soon being transmitted around the globe. The result? The band claimed that their song had been appropriated to promote the car without their permission and filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit!