Eddy ain’t dancing with Dampnut no more:
Donald Trump has lost a legal battle with the singer Eddy Grant over using his 1983 song Electric Avenue in a 2020 ad without permission.
The 40-second clip – an animation of Joe Biden travelling in a railroad cart while a Trump-Pence campaign train passes at high speed – was viewed more than 13.7m times on Twitter before it was removed, according to Grant’s lawsuit.
The video was originally posted to Trump’s personal Twitter account on 12 August 2020 as the Republican president campaigned in his second, unsuccessful presidential election. Grant’s lawyers immediately sent a cease and desist letter, but the video was not removed until Grant sued on 1 September.
In a Manhattan court, a federal judge ruled that Trump breached Grant’s copyright and is liable for damages and Grant’s legal fees.
Judge John G Koeltl rejected the argument made by Trump’s lawyers that the video was protected under the copyright fair use doctrine. “It’s everything we asked for,” one of Grant’s lawyers, Brett Van Benthysen, told Business Insider. “100%.”
Another of Grant’s lawyers, Brian Caplan, told Business Insider: “As a staunch believer of artist’s rights and the ability to control their creative output, Mr Grant believes that the decision will help others in their fight against the unauthorised use of sound recordings and musical compositions. Politicians are not above the law and the court reaffirmed that.”
I’m perfectly fine with this, not just because it’s Trump losing (but hey, watching him lose a legal case certainly is pleasant to watch) or just because it’s Eddy Grant winning, but because fuck any politician who does this (on either side, obviously, I’d be pissed at any Democrat doing this, but I think they would have more sense). Especially when they’re stealing from an artist you know would hate them.