*Rock veteran Jackson Browne filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using his 1977 song "Running on Empty" in a campaign ad without permission.
The spot features the song while a narrator mocks Democratic candidate Barack Obama's comment about the need for people to check their tire pressure as part of an overall effort to conserve gas.
Browne's lawyer, Lawrence Iser, said his client is "a well-known, lifelong liberal activist and supporter of Democratic candidates, and use of his song and his voice in a commercial bashing Barack Obama is anathema to Jackson."
The suit, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, also names the Republican National Committee and the Ohio Republican Party as defendants. It seeks a permanent injunction against further use of Browne's music and at least $75,000 in damages.
McCain's campaign, meanwhile, says the Ohio Republican Party is solely responsible for the creation and distribution of the ad, and the Arizona senator and his campaign had nothing to with it.
There was no immediate comment from the RNC or Ohio Republican Party representatives. The ad, which aired on television in Ohio and Pennsylvania, was removed from the Internet last week by the Ohio Republican Party in response to a cease-and-desist demand from Browne.