White Stripes "Reunited" for Copyright INFRINGEMENT Lawsuit Against DONALD TRUMP

On Monday, Jack Anthony White and Megan Martha White, formerly of the "White Stripes" sued the embattled former president, for using a portion of their song "Seven Nation Army" on Trump's social media promoting his campaign, adding to a growing list of copyright infringement lawsuits brought by artists against Trump. Copyright claims against Trump have become so prevalent that the number of musicians opposed to Trump using their music in campaign rallies have their own Wikipedia page.

This growing tension between artists and Trump's campaign has culminated in litigation with Isaac Hayes III being successful in a recent emergency preliminary injunction hearing, held in the Northern District of Georgia, wherein Trump's campaign was injuncted from using the song "Hold On (I'm Coming)".

Allegations of Unlawful Use

In the complaint, it appears that the plaintiffs' are concerned about both the alleged copyright infringement and the risk of association with Donald Trump, by the use of their music in his social media campaign videos. With respect to the allegation of copyright infringement the complaint alleges:

"As a self-professed sophisticated and successful businessman with decades-long experience in the entertainment industry (not to mention being on the receiving end of numerous copyright claims by musical artists whose work he used without permission), Defendant Trump and the other Defendants, his agents, knew or should have known that the use of the 7NA Works in the Infringing Trump Videos was unauthorized, and, therefore, violated Plaintiffs’ rights under the Copyright Act"

The complaint goes on to claim that within a few hours after appearing on "X" the video received "65,000 views and 700 reposts" which would have resulted in significant contributions to the campaign.

With respect to the allegations of the risk of association of the White Stripes with Trump's campaign, the following allegation was made:

"Plaintiffs take a great deal of care in deciding whether, to whom, and on what terms they will license third-party uses of their music, including, especially, the 7NA Works. Defendants did not seek a license from Plaintiffs to use the 7NA Works, but, even if they had, Plaintiffs would not have given them one because Plaintiffs do not endorse, and do not want to be associated with Defendants in any manner. Defendants knew or should have known this based on Plaintiffs’ very public statements in 2016 (noted above) making as much abundantly clear."

The White Stripes have, as part of their complaint, claimed that Trump's campaign benefitted from the use of the music in that, the campaign would receive increased exposure and derive revenue from merchandise sales and campaign contributions, which benefits The White Stripes have sought to recover.

Using Music on Social Media To Promote Your Business or Campaign

The actions against Trump's campaign appear to stem from the artist's opposition to Donald Trump himself, and the amount of money he would have raised from the alleged unauthorized use of the music. It does appear, however, that the use of music in social media marketing campaigns are a minefield for copyright litigation. Last week, Johnson and Johnson was sued by APM for the same thing that Donald Trump is being sued for, that is, using music without permission of the copyright holder.

In order to use copyright protected music on social media, to promote a business, campaign, event or similar, a synchronization license should be obtained. A synchronization license is an agreement between a music owner and the owner of a copyrighted composition (song).

In certain instances, organizations such as ASCAP or Harry Fox can be approached for a sync license. If these organizations are unable to assist then the sync license must be procured directly from the copyright owners themselves.

Obtaining Sync Licenses Are A Challenge to Trump

The White Stripes are not an outlier amongst musicians averse to the use of their music in Trump's campaigns and rallies. With the copyright in some of the most popular music owned by the artists themselves, Trump faces an increasing legal impediment by using music without the copyright owners permission, if the allegations are correct.

If you want to obtain a music license or if you're tired of people using your copyright protected works without your permission, feel free to check out our subscription based solutions on our website.

If you want to learn more about how AI generated Taylor Swift's endorsement of Donald Trump could lead to copyright infringement click here, or want to know if Will Smith's "Gemini Man" was stolen from a South African lawyer click here.

Justec Brand Protection is a company that specializes in online intellectual property (copyright and trademark) theft, and domain name disputes. Justec Brand Protection is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Always consult a licensed attorney for your business’ needs.