The family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes is suing former President Donald Trump for using the icon’s music at his rallies, Isaac Hayes III announced last week.
The filing accused the former president and the Republican Nation Committee of “willfully and brazenly” engaging in 134 counts of copyright infringement.
A letter to Trump and his campaign from the Georgia-based law firm Walker & Associates reads:
Our firm has been retained by the family and Isaac Hayes Enterprises, who own the copyright to the musical composition and recording “Hold On (I’m Coming)” (the “Song”). It has come to our attention that you or the campaign have authorized the illegal public performance of the Song on multiple occasions during various rallies for your political campaign without authorization from the copyright holder, despite being asked repeatedly not to engage in such illegal use by our client.
Upon information and belief, you, your campaign, and/or the RNC and other parties have willfully and brazenly engaged in copyright infringement in violation of several provisions of Title 17 U.S.C., including § 501, of the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended, over one hundred times. We have attached for your convenience a non-exhaustive list attached hereto as Exhibit A. As we prepared this letter, there was an additional use in Montana just two nights ago, even with your office apparently aware that you had no permission. We and the family hereby demand that you cease the continual infringement of our copyright and stop all unauthorized use of the Song.
The suit further demands Trump pay $3 million, stop using the song, and to remove any campaign multimedia of the song being played at rallies. Hayes’ estate also demanded Trump issue a statement acknowledging he played the song without permission.
Hey, if I bought a beatles album and played the songs at a private party, but did not sell it to anyone or make it available to anyone for a fee, did I break the rules?
I think not
Guess we need to see the receipt of where Donald Trump bought this record, tape, CD or online use of “Hold on, I’m Coming!”
Other groups for music sources:
AC DC Police, Devo, Euthrymics, Bangles, B52s,
Berlin, from TV & movie soundtracks
A song is only protected for a numbedr of y ears before it bgecomes public domain. Im pretty sure Isaac Hayes song is public domain by now so Trump could use it as often as he wanted. The family is just a money hungry grabbing group.
If the song has gone public, what is the crime? The man is dead, so what? They should be proud
that his words live on. Sue happy world we live in.