Donald Trump loses ‘Electric Avenue’ legal battle with Eddy Grant

Donald Trump has lost a legal battle over using Eddy Grant’s 1993 song ‘Electric Avenue’ without permission from the artist.

A 40-second clip of the track was used in a Trump campaign ad in 2020, amassing over 13.7m views on Twitter before it was removed by the platform, according to the lawsuit.

In a Manhattan court, a federal judge ruled that Trump breached Grant’s copyright and is liable for damages as well as payment for the musician’s legal fees, despite Trump’s lawyers' argument that the video was shielded under copyright’s fair use doctrine, allowing for the use of protected works in certain situations.

“As a staunch believer of artist’s rights and the ability to control their creative output,” one of Grant's lawyers, Brian Caplan, told Business Insider, “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.”

Damages for the case are yet to be determined, but Grant’s original lawsuit asked for $300,000.

This follows a string of legal actions taken by musicians against Trump, with The White Stripes suing the former president last week for copyright infringement and “flagrant misappropriation” over the alleged non-permitted use of ‘Seven Nation Army’ in a campaign video, which was subsequently deleted.

Isaac Hayes’ estate is also suing Trump for $3m over an alleged 130 instances of Hayes’ song ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ being used at campaign rallies without permission, with a judge ruling in early September that the reelection hopeful must stop using the song at his events. Meanwhile, Beyoncé reportedly issued a cease-and-desist after Trump used her song ‘Freedom’ in a video that has since been deleted.