{"id":2557,"date":"2024-09-11T16:48:55","date_gmt":"2024-09-11T16:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/the-white-stripes-file-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-trump-justia-news-september-11-2024\/"},"modified":"2024-09-11T16:48:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T16:48:55","slug":"the-white-stripes-file-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-trump-justia-news-september-11-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/the-white-stripes-file-copyright-infringement-lawsuit-against-trump-justia-news-september-11-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"The White Stripes File Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Trump \u2014 Justia News \u2014 September 11, 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p>On Monday, September 9, 2024, the White Stripes sued Donald J. Trump and his election campaign over \u201cflagrant misappropriation\u201d of their song \u201cSeven Nation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The White Stripes is a rock band comprised of members Jack White and Meg White. The band recorded the song \u201cSeven Nation Army\u201d in 2003. Jack White wrote the musical composition and obtained a copyright registration from the U.S. Copyright Office on March 29, 2004. The White Stripes obtained a copyright registration from the U.S. Copyright Office for the recording of the song on March 29, 2004. The song was awarded a Grammy for Best Rock Song in 2004. \u201cThe riff in the introduction and elsewhere in the [song] is one of the most memorable and widely recognized pieces of modern-day music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On August 29, 2024, Trump\u2019s campaign published a video on different social media platforms comprised of Trump boarding an aircraft for campaign stops with the song \u201cplaying for the duration of the video with no other sound whatsoever.\u201d The complaint alleges that Trump and his campaign used the song in the video for the purpose of \u201c(i) enhancing Defendant Trump\u2019s public image; (ii) infusing energy into and excitement around Defendant Trump\u2019s campaign. . . and (iii) attracting engagement, financial, and other support from current and prospective supporters.\u201d The video received at least 65,000 views and 700 reposts \u201cin a matter of just a few hours.\u201d The complaint alleges that the defendants \u201cneither sought nor obtained\u201d the permission and endorsement of the White Stripes to use \u201cSeven Nation Army.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After viewing the video on social media, Jack White published a post on his Instagram account sharing the clip of the Trump campaign\u2019s video. The caption for the post states: \u201cOh\u2026Don\u2019t even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others.). . . And as long as I\u2019m here, a double [f\u2013k] you DonOLD for insulting our nation\u2019s veterans at Arlington you scum.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint claims as causes of action: (1) direct copyright infringement of the recording; (2) direct copyright infringement of the composition; (3) contributory copyright infringement of the recording; (4) contributory copyright infringement of the composition; (5) vicarious copyright infringement of the recording; and (6) vicarious copyright infringement of the composition. The complaint seeks relief in the form of a declaratory judgment; injunctive and equitable relief; a full and complete accounting of profits, gains, advantages, and value of business opportunities received from the infringement; damages; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; and costs and attorney\u2019s fees.<\/p>\n<p>Upon the lawsuit\u2019s filing, Jack White shared a picture of the first page of the complaint to his Instagram. That post\u2019s caption reads \u201cThis machine sues fascists.\u201d Multiple artists have protested the use of their songs by the Trump campaign this election cycle, including the family of late singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes, Celine Dion, Beyonc\u00e9, ABBA, and the Foo Fighters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Additional Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/in-the-know\/4870808-the-white-stripes-sue-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The White Stripes file lawsuit against Trump over use of song: \u2018This machine sues fascists\u2019<\/a>, <em>The Hill<\/em> (September 29, 2024)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ipwatchdog.com\/2024\/08\/12\/trump-campaigns-copyright-conundrum\/id=180080\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Trump Campaign\u2019s Latest Copyright Conundrum<\/a>, <em>IPWatchdog<\/em> (August 12, 2024)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Musicians_who_oppose_Donald_Trump%27s_use_of_their_music\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Musicians who oppose Donald Trump\u2019s use of their music<\/a>, <em>Wikipedia<\/em> (September 10, 2024)<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/dockets.justia.com\/docket\/new-york\/nysdce\/1:2024cv06811\/628009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">White et al v. Trump et al<\/a><\/em> (Case No. 1:2024cv06811)<\/p>\n<p>Complaint in <em>White et al v. Trump et al<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photo Credit: <\/strong>MPH Photos \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>(function(d, s, id) {\n            var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n            if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n            js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n            js.src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.11&appId=1639788792774312&autoLogAppEvents=1\";\n            fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n        }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday, September 9, 2024, the White Stripes sued Donald J. Trump and his election campaign over \u201cflagrant misappropriation\u201d of their song \u201cSeven Nation Army.\u201d The White Stripes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[429,1004,892,309,303,310,3252,3340,409,1257],"class_list":["post-2557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lawyers","tag-copyright","tag-file","tag-infringement","tag-justia","tag-lawsuit","tag-news","tag-september","tag-stripes","tag-trump","tag-white"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}