Donald Trump loses lawsuit over using Eddy Grant's song 'Electric Avenue' in campaign ad
In another legal setback, former President Donald Trump has lost a court battle against the singer Eddy Grant after a judge ruled his campaign used the 1983 hit song "Electric Avenue" in a campaign ad without permission.
The judgment comes more than four years after the initial complaint was filed by Grant’s lawyers. The source of the suit was a 40-second animated campaign ad that showed President Joe Biden on a railroad cart as a Trump-Pence campaign car passes the Biden cart.
The video was seen almost 14 million times on X, formerly Twitter before it was removed from the site when Grant sued the Trump campaign in September 2020.
Judge John G. Koetl from the U.S. Southern District Court in Manhattan ruled that the fair use doctrine did not apply to the campaign ad, and therefore Trump will now be liable for damages and Grant's legal fees.
The specific amount of damages is still unknown, the original complaint from 2020 asked for $300,000 in damages. The final amount will be determined either by a jury or by an agreement between both parties.
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Not the first time Trump has been sued by musicians
Grant is only one of the many musicians who have threatened to or have filed lawsuits against Trump for using their music as part of his campaign. Last week, the White Stripes sued Trump for copyright infringement.
The most recent lawsuit came when lead singer Jack White threatened to sue Trump after his campaign used the band's iconic 2003 song “Seven Nation Army” over a video of the former president boarding a plane.
"Oh....Don't even think about using my music you fascists," White wrote in an Instagram post. "Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.) Have a great day at work today Margo Martin."
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Atlanta ruled that Trump could no longer use the Issac Hayes song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” after the singer's family threatened to sue the former president over the use of his track.
"Today our family was granted an injunction against @realdonaldtrump from playing @IsaacHayes3 music ever again," Hayes' son Isaac Hayes III wrote on X. "We are please(d) with the decision by the court and move to the next phase of this lawsuit."
The family of the singer has also filed a copyright infringement notice for $3 million after allegedly using the song more than 130 times without permission.
Beyoncé also sent the Trump campaign a cease and desist notice after the campaign used the song “Freedom” in a campaign ad shared by the former president's spokesperson Steven Cheung.
While she did not give permission to Trump, Beyoncé gave permission to the Kamala Harris campaign to use the same song back in July.
??Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump loses lawsuit against Eddy Grant over 'Electric Avenue'
