Law Firm Freaks Out That Ridiculous Corporate Song Leaked Out To Blogs

from the enjoy-the-fame-of-the-Streisand-Effect dept

Fri, Aug 24th 2007 9:41am — Mike Masnick

I must admit that there's something fascinating (in the "train wreck" sense) to me about corporate songs and anthems. It's amazing how many of them there are out there, and I'm disappointed that ZDNet UK gave up its old chart that supposedly tracked the popularity of those songs. While these songs are both awful and entertaining at the same time, you really wouldn't have expected there to be a copyright battle over one of them showing up on a blog... except, of course, if the song was about a law firm. Denise Howell points out that the Above the Law blog posted a horrifyingly awful song from the law firm Nixon Peabody. While you might think that any firm that would create a song that bad must have a sense of humor, it appears that Nixon Peabody not only didn't mean for the song to be funny, but they're taking the matter so seriously they're threatening Above the Law with copyright infringement. Of course, as the guy who runs the site notes, he has a pretty strong fair use defense on using the song (which the folks at Nixon Peabody apparently go to great lengths to claim is not a "theme song" since it bizarrely goes against New Jersey's rules of professional conduct for lawyers to advertise themselves with music). However, of course, as with any attempt to hide something, it seems likely this song is only going to get more attention.

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Filed Under: copyright, corporate songs, fair use
Companies: nixon peabody

24 Comments

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GoblinJuice, 24 Aug 2007 @ 9:51am

New Jersey's rules of professional conduct for lawyers to advertise themselves with music

I'd love to know the history behind that! =D

I'd rather see, er, something like KMFDM's "Free Your Hate" turned into a theme for a law firm.

"The lawsuits will continue
Until the judge approves"
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Chuck Norris' Enemy (deceased), 24 Aug 2007 @ 10:01am

Listened to it
I just want to watch those singers recording the song. They have got to be all into it like they were rockin' for 40,000 screaming fans.
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TheDock22, 24 Aug 2007 @ 10:16am

Seriously
since it bizarrely goes against New Jersey's rules of professional conduct for lawyers to advertise themselves with music

I think the lawsuit threat is more about protecting this law firm from backlash against the Lawyer's Board in New Jersey than it is about them simply not wanting the song to be used. The New Jersey Board is notorious for being strict on lawyers and law firms. I bet the only way to get the song taken down is to sue for copyright infringement. Asking nicely doesn't seem to work these days...
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tribster, 24 Aug 2007 @ 10:17am

N&P
Believe Me When i Say this Everybody's a Winner AND they are a Happinin' Company At Nixon Peabody.
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Brandon Watts, 24 Aug 2007 @ 11:02am

This is classic. As humorous and beyond belief as the song is, I've never heard of Nixon Peabody before, and now I have, so whether they like it or not, at least it's working for them in raising awareness about their company. Therefore, this is one of those situations where bad press is actually good press.

Brandon Watts
Criteo Evangelist
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Not a winner, 24 Aug 2007 @ 11:48am

I'm
That so-called "song" is truly horrible. If I were @ Nixon Peabody, I wouldn't want it to get out either.

But if I were at Nixon Peabody, I'd be a winner, because "Everyone's a winner at Nixon Peabody"!!
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Overcast, 24 Aug 2007 @ 11:58am

Didn't listen to it - umm, don't think I want to, lol.

I'm just so very glad I don't work at a Law Firm anymore, some of them really seem to be on the very border of a cult.
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Todd Nap, 24 Aug 2007 @ 12:15pm

Nixon Peabody
Let me just say that someone should sue NIXON PEABODY, not the other way around. I have suffered permenent hearing damage from listening to the "song."

Will anyone out there represent me?
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Monarch, 24 Aug 2007 @ 12:23pm

OMG! Did Dwight and Michael write and record that song for them???
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stephen, 24 Aug 2007 @ 12:24pm

funky
i wonder if it's a racial thing: a soul-infused funk song sung by an aretha clone with a black baptist-like choir behind her? not very white shoe, even though NP seems to be proudly diverse.
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Lucretious, 24 Aug 2007 @ 12:29pm

My god what a truly embarrassing POS that song is.

Theres nothing I hate worse than this rah-rah we-are-a-family/we-are-a-team cheerleading. It so forced and phony. You hire me, let me know what you need done and make sure my check is there at the end of the week, end of story. I don't want "corporate culture" I don't want to know what your family does or in turn you may not know how MY family is doing. I don't want to participate in some fun little outing to the fucking ballgame. I hate you, I hate that I have to work for a living, leave me alone.
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Hulser, 24 Aug 2007 @ 1:15pm

Playing devil's advocate here, is it really fair use if you make the *entire* song available? You couldn't post an entire movie or all of a "real" song and claim it was fair use because you were just illustrating how bad it was. (Besides, it would only take a snippet of that song to confirm how awful it is.)
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GoblinJuice, 24 Aug 2007 @ 1:51pm

Re:
MST3K may have covered similar legal ground.

I don't think a lawyer would touch something like this, tho. It's just so damn silly. And, since it wasn't mean for public release....
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sehlat (profile), 24 Aug 2007 @ 2:15pm

Re: Seriously
Did I *actually* read the words "Asking nicely" in a post about *lawyers*?
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ChurchHatesTucker, 24 Aug 2007 @ 3:32pm

MP3
The mp3 is available here: http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/08/nixon_peabody_themesonggate_an.php
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Sanguine Dream, 24 Aug 2007 @ 5:18pm

Oh my god...
How much are they suing for because I will help pay the settlement if and only if a condition of the settlement is that this song is never played again for as long as the human body can comprehend sound.
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ChurchHatesTucker, 24 Aug 2007 @ 10:05pm

Self Serving Linkage
As of right now, clicking on my name will get you to a portion (all you really want--trust me) of the NP song.
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mike allen, 24 Aug 2007 @ 11:01pm

cheese
or what i may play about 29.5 seconds on the radio show just to p em off couldnt stand any more to be honest
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anonymous, 25 Aug 2007 @ 5:39am

The song is actually pretty hideous!
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Ralph, 25 Aug 2007 @ 2:59pm

The aftermath
Just spent a half hour cleaning up the puke off my keyboard. No problem cause the computer still works.

Shouldn't you put some kind of warning for the listener to wear some kind of bib?
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Magic City Harvard Lawyer, 26 Aug 2007 @ 1:47am

I have a take on the Nixon Peabody incident on my blawg at http://beckandlee.wordpress.com/2007/08/26/east-coast-law-firm-finds-itself-in-youtube-pr-debacle/
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Nasty Old Geezer, 27 Aug 2007 @ 1:11pm

Re: The aftermath
I did not go to the link nor listen to the song -- I run a sound board part-time and want to keep the gig.

I am imagining Vogon poetry set to elevator music though.
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Miriam, 7 Apr 2009 @ 7:10am

Hai
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

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Corporate Law, 31 May 2009 @ 11:00pm

Corporate law in USA
Corporate law in USA depends on the position of the emerging organization. The existence of a corporate law helps in USA maintaining the corporate environment inside and outside of the corporation. Corporate law applies for corporate group concepts as holding, subsidiary and related companies.

http://www.lawyersindemand.com/Attorney-Type/Corporate-Law-Firms/index.html
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