Trump Train Derailed In “Electric Avenue” Copyright Lawsuit

Donald Trump is facing another lawsuit from a musician who objects to the use of their music at campaign events and rallies. Scott Hervey and Jamie Lincenberg discuss this latest challenge on this episode of The Briefing.

Watch this episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel.

Cases Discussed:

Show Notes:

Scott:
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has faced a number of challenges from musical artists that object to the use of their music in connection with his political campaign. We’ve previously covered the copyright infringement case related to the Trump campaign’s use of Isaac Hayes’ song, ‘Hold on, I’m Coming.’

I’m Scott Hervey from Weintraub Tobin, and I’m joined today by Jamie Lincenberg. We’re going to talk about the Court’s order in Eddie Grant’s lawsuit regarding the Trump campaign’s use of Electric Avenue on today’s episode of The Briefing.

Jamie, welcome back to The Briefing.

Jamie:
Thanks for having me back, Scott. I’m excited to dive into this interesting case.

Scott:
It is interesting. Let’s start with the basics. Can you give us a quick overview of what this case is about?

Jamie:
Certainly, this case involves a copyright infringement claim by musician Eddie Grant against the former President, Donald Trump, and his campaign. The dispute centers around the use of Grant’s song, Electric Avenue. I think we all know that one in the campaign’s 55-second video posted on Trump’s Twitter account during the 2020 presidential election. The video contains an animation of a high-speed red train bearing the words Trump pence, Keep America Great, 2020, in stark contrast to a slow-moving hand car bearing the words Biden President, your hair smells terrific. The hand car is empowered by an animated likeness of President Biden.

Scott:
In August 2020, Grant’s lawyer sent the Trump campaign a cease and desist letter. Neither the video nor the tweet were removed. And on September 2020, Grant filed suit. The Trump campaign contended that the use of the song constituted fair use. Now, this recent ruling comes as a result of both parties filing motions for summary judgment.

Jamie:
There were two key issues here. First, whether the plaintiffs had a valid copyright registration for the sound recording of Electric Avenue. And second, whether the use of the song in the campaign video constituted fair use under copyright law.

Scott:
So the first issue was, there’s a real interesting one. That’s whether or not Eddie Grant had a valid copyright registration in the sound recording of Electric Avenue. So as you know, a plaintiff is not allowed or able to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement unless the allegedly infringed the work has been registered. Without a valid copyright registration, a plaintiff cannot bring a viable copyright infringement action. So the question was whether the registration of the album, Eddie Grant, The Greatest Hits in 2002, which included Electric Avenue amongst the other Eddie Grant hits, also affected registration of that specific sound recording for Electric Avenue.

Jamie:
That’s right. And the Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on this issue. It found that the registration of the compilation album, Eddie Grant, The Greatest Hits, in 2002, effectively registered the sound recording of Electric Avenue contained within it. The district Court noted that courts