Ex-Nypd Cop In $5 Million Bid To Sue Beeb
Byrne v. British Broadcasting Corporation
The People - 4/30/00
DISCLAIMER:
BBC logo used only to identify adversary
THE BBC is facing a $5 million US lawsuit over its coverage of Northern Ireland
affairs.
Chris Byrne, founder of the Irish musical group Black 47, claims the corporation
used his copyrighted song Fenians to convey an anti-Irish message which harmed
the peace process.
The former NYPD cop says BBC Northern Ireland failed to get permission to play
his words and music in an October 5, 1999 Spotlight documentary about four Irish
nationals accused of gunrunning for the IRA.
At one point, three minutes of Byrne's music was used behind images of New
York landmarks to underscore the show's message that the IRA ceasefire was a
sham, the singer complains."The BBC's copyright infringement could not be more
clear," said Byrne's attorney Russell Smith. "The BBC's false association of its
message with our client adds insult to injury."
The lawsuit forms part of a long-running war which Byrne, who uses the stage
name Seanchai, has fought with the BBC. "After everything I've stood for, it now
appears to my compatriots and my fans that Seanchai has sold out," he said.
"My political beliefs are central to who I am, and the BBC's theft of my work for
the purposes of anti-Irish disinformation is a grave infringement of my artistic
rights." The BBC has acknowledged receipt of notice to sue, but has not yet had
time to reply.
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