Photo: WENN

Defeated Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has responded to a lawsuit which claims his campaign used a song without permission.

Singer Jackson Browne sued Mr McCain in August after his track, 'Running On Empty', appeared in a Republican advert criticising president-elect Barack Obama's energy plan.

Mr McCain's lawyer Lincoln Bandlow yesterday (November 20th) contested to the lawsuit with two 20-page motions, reports Reuters.

The first, claims that Mr McCain's use of the song's title only was permitted by the fair use doctrine, which allows copyrighted materials to be used in film for the purpose of commentary.

Mr Bandlow cited a recent judgement against Yoko On, who failed to prevent a clip of her late husband's – former Beatle John Lennon's – song 'Imagine' from appearing in a film.

Mr McCain's legal team also presented a second anti-SLAPP motion, which is normally used by defendants who want to seek damages on the grounds that a plaintiff's lawsuit has attempted to interfere with free speech.

The politician faced a barrage of complaints from musicians during his presidential campaign who complained he had used their material without permission.