Judge Shuts Down Donald Trump's Dance Party
Bizarre high school reunion argument couldn't salvage copyright case.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Judge Thomas Thrash has issued a temporary injunction blocking the Trump campaign from playing, “Hold On, I’m Coming” following a complaint filed by the estate of composer Isaac Hayes, claiming that it holds a valid copyright interest in the song and does not consent to Trump’s use.
In its effort to keep the song that Trump loves to do his weird little dance to — the one where it looks like he’s milking two upright cows… or, you know — the campaign filed an opposition claiming that the Hayes estate had not sufficiently established a valid copyright interest in the work. That’s a potentially good argument! His attorneys probably should’ve stopped there.
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It’s worth remembering that they’re not currently litigating damages for unauthorized use of the composition. The estate sought an injunction to prevent the campaign from using its work. All the arguments about how they should’ve known that Trump has used the song since 2020 blah blah blah are largely irrelevant to the question of whether or not a rightsholder can stop Trump from using the song going forward.
So the only colorable defense was the ownership question. Intellectual property rights in music get passed around among publishers like a hot potato and songwriters often lose a stake in their own work. It’s why we have Taylor’s Versions. Trump’s team claims that the Hayes estate doesn’t currently hold enforceable rights. Fair enough. But then they went further in pushing this argument by invoking the license to the song that the campaign secured from BMI.
Not only is plaintiffs’ evidence insufficient, but it is rebutted by both the implications of BMI’s issuance of a license to the Campaign…
There’s just one problem with that license (from a social media post by Isaac Hayes III)…
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Waving around a license in August 2024 that you know was revoked in June 2024 isn’t the most compelling of legal moves. Citing a license that indicates that the licensing company recognizes the rights of the composers to revoke the license is even less helpful. It still helps Trump stave off some damages if the unlicensed use of the song only began a couple months ago. But, again, that’s a fight for another day. This was a preliminary injunction request. No one really cares if the campaign had a valid license in the past, only that it doesn’t have one today.
Then they — for some reason — used Sam Moore as an affiant to detail his understanding of the chain of ownership in the copyright from his vantage point as the singer on the original track. He decided to include a personal anecdote for some reason:
Finally, I wish to bring to the Court’s attention that there is good reason for it to reject the presumptions suggested by the plaintiffs concerning the political views of Isaac Hayes.
In fact, during his life Isaac Hayes, my wife Joyce and I traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to perform at the 20th High School Reunion of Lee Atwater when he was Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Isaac also participated in an album project for Lee Atwater with Billy Preston, Chuck Jackson, Carla Thomas and myself. Isaac did not view Republicans or the Republican Party negatively while he was alive.
Who cares?
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It doesn’t matter if Hayes would’ve let Trump use the song when he was alive if the estate holds those rights today and doesn’t want Trump to use the song NOW. Telling an estate that the campaign should get to exploit a song because the deceased did a high school reunion gig for a different Republican in the last millennium is no more compelling than someone showing up at your house and saying, “Your grandfather used to let me shoot pornos here so I’m gonna need your house for a few days.”
Who lets this sneak into a filing? It doesn’t enhance the legal argument and it’s sufficiently bizarre that it’s going to become a story itself. And not just because people like Above the Law are on the lookout for goofy lawyering — Newsweek put the high school reunion nonsense in its headline. It makes the whole argument sound all the more frivolous. What are you doing, guys?!?
Just find a Kid Rock song and move on with your lives.
Earlier: Isaac Hayes Estate Files Copyright Suit, Say This Cat Donald Trump Is A Bad Mother–
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
