Young filed suit for copyright infringement, to prevent his music from being used “as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”
Since announcing his candidacy for president in 2015, Donald Trump has been using Neil Young’s songs in his political rallies—despite consistent objections from the artist. This week, Young filed suit against the Trump reelection campaign to prevent his music from being used “as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.” Young’s lawsuit alleges copyright violations: specifically, that the Trump campaign did not procure a license to play Young’s hits, “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” at campaign events, including Trump’s controversial June 20th rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Moreover, the suit claims that “the Campaign has willfully ignored Plaintiff’s telling it not to play the Songs and willfully proceeded to play the Songs despite its lack of a license and despite its knowledge that a license is required to do so.” In addition to demanding that the Trump campaign never play any of Young’s songs again at any of its events, the suit asks for up to $150,000 per past infringement. Young’s lawsuit comes on the heels of a letter from dozens of major artists to both the Republican and Democratic campaign committees last week demanding that the committees ensure that their candidates refrain from using artists’ songs without permission. That letter provided some historical context: “This is not a new problem. Or a partisan one. Every election cycle brings stories of artists and songwriters frustrated to find their work being used in settings that suggest endorsement or support of political candidates without their permission or consent.” According to Lawrence Iser—a leading intellectual property lawyer who helped Jackson Browne successfully sue John McCain’s campaign in 2008 for using his hit song, “Running on Empty,” without permission—Neil Young’s lawsuit breaks new ground that was not tested in Browne’s suit against the McCain campaign.
