Obama campaign unlawfully misuses proprietary firearms industry media list

NEWTOWN, Conn. – The Obama campaign in Indiana, on September 27, unlawfully obtained and made unauthorized use of a proprietary media list belonging to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms industry. Sen. Obama used this list to e-mail a press release concerning National Hunting and Fishing Day.

On October 8, NSSF sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Obama campaign demanding that they immediately stop any further unauthorized misuse of its proprietary media list.

The list contains the names and addresses of members of the media that attended the NSSF Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) – the world's largest firearms trade show and the 23rd largest trade show of any kind in North America.

The list can only be obtained from NSSF and its use is tightly controlled by NSSF. Neither the Obama campaign, nor its operations in Indiana, obtained any rights from NSSF to use the list.

NSSF’s letter also demands that the Obama campaign destroy all copies of the list, identify how they obtained the list and pay monetary damages to NSSF for its misappropriation and unauthorized use of the association’s intellectual property. NSSF demanded an immediate response from the Obama campaign and has threatened to file a lawsuit against the campaign if its demands are not met.

“NSSF will not sit idly by while its legal rights are harmed, particularly for partisan political gain,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.

NSSF is also encouraging all sportsmen and gun-owners to visit the NSSF Voter Education Web-site and educate themselves about the candidates’ records and positions on issues important to them in this election.