Green Party ordered to pay compensation for lyrics used in campaign

A court in Prague has ruled that the Green Party must pay 500,000 crowns, or some 24,000 US dollars, to the author of a song lyrics the group used in their election campaign in 2010. The party used the slogan “And what about children, do they have a place to play” which was featured in a 1980 song by the Czech rock band Katapult. The band allowed the party to use the song but the Greens never asked the author of the lyrics for permission. The author, who now runs a law firm, claimed one of clients, an industrial company, stopped working with him after the Green Party used the slogan. The court has also ordered the party to publicly apologize to the author of the lyrics.