Judge forces Donald Trump's campaign to stop using the song 'Hold On, I'm Coming'
The family of Isaac Hayes filed a lawsuit against the former president for his unauthorized use of the song, which the artist composed with David Porter and was first performed by Sam & Dave in 1966.
Trump receives a standing ovation in Detroit, Michigan/ Jeff Kowalsky
The song "Hold On, I'm Coming" will stop being played at election rallies for Donald Trump. At least for the moment.
Atlanta federal judge Thomas Thrash on Wednesday approved a preliminary injunction preventing the former president's campaign from continuing to use the song composed by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and first performed by the soul duo Sam & Dave in 1996.
It was the family of the songwriter, who died in 2008 at age 65, that filed the court brief last month. In the lawsuit, they accused Donald Trump's team of using the well-known song not only in campaign events, but also in election promotional videos and other events. Something for which, they claimed, infringed copyright and for which they demanded some kind of compensation for damages.
And they won. Judge Thrash ruled in favor of the family and decreed that Donald Trump's campaign may not use the song again. "I do order Trump and his campaign to not use the song without proper license," the judge assured in statements collected by CNN.
However, he did allow campaign promotional videos in which the theme was used to continue to be available on social media.
However, Hayes' son, Isaac Hayes III, was pleased with the decision and, despite the promotional videos not being removed, considered the judge's ruling as a major victory, as he assured Deadline:
"We are very grateful and happy for the decision by Judge Thrash … I couldn’t ask for a better decision. I want this to serve as an opportunity for other artists to come forward that don’t want their music used by Donald Trump or other political entities."
The lawyer for the former president's campaign, Ronald Coleman, assured that they will not use the well-known theme song again since they have "no interest in annoying or hurting anyone. And if the Hayes family feels it hurts or annoys them, that’s fine, we’re not going to force the issue."
It remains to be seen what will happen with other lawsuits and petitions made by artists such as Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, or the heirs of Prince and Foo Fighters who also showed their discomfort after discovering that the former president was using their songs during his election rallies.
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