Legal action threatened over campaign ad

Members of Monty Python have threatened to sue a Republican politician after he illegally used a clip from the show in his campaign ad.

Chris Christie, who is standing for governor of New Jersey, used a Flying Circus sketch in which Michael Palin repeatedly asks viewers if they have ever suffered from déjà vu, while superimposing captions about his opponent’s record.

However, despite being a former attorney, Christie never sought permission to use the clip in the commercial, which has aired several times.

Palin told the Huffington Post website: ‘I'm surprised that a former US attorney isn’t aware of his copyright infringement when he uses our material without permission.

‘He's clearly made a terrible mistake. It was the endorsement of Sarah Palin he was after - not that of Michael Palin.’

Terry Jones added that the Pythons added: ‘It is totally outrageous that a former US Attorney knows so little about the law that he thinks he can rip off people off.’

Following the Pythons’ complaint, the offending advert was removed from YouTube and the Christie campaign website.

Here is a news report about the story:

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Published: 3 Nov 2009