Trump campaign claims Isaac Hayes’ estate lacks copyright ownership of rally song

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign recently responded to a lawsuit filed by the estate of soul musician Isaac Hayes. The lawsuit alleges that Trump has been using the 1966 Sam and Dave song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at his campaign events without permission.

Isaac Hayes III, the son of the late songwriter who co-wrote the song with David Porter, announced the lawsuit in early August. Last week, a federal judge in Georgia set an emergency hearing after the estate requested an injunction to stop Trump and related parties from using the song.

On Saturday, Trump’s campaign filed a 23-page response, arguing that Hayes’ estate “failed to meet any of the well-established requirements” necessary for a preliminary injunction. Central to their defense is the claim that the Hayes estate does not own the copyright to the song in question.

Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC, in their $3 million complaint, alleges that Trump unlawfully profited off Hayes’ reputation and identity by using the song at rallies, violating federal law. The complaint records 134 counts of copyright infringement and demands $150,000 per unauthorized performance as licensing fees.

Trump’s campaign claims that the Hayes estate has not provided sufficient evidence that they own the copyright. According to Trump’s legal team, the rights to “Hold On, I’m Coming” have been held by various publishers over decades and are now primarily owned by Universal Music Group Publishing (UMPG) and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.

Supporting this stance, Trump’s team included a declaration from Sam Moore, the surviving member of Sam and Dave, who detailed the song’s complicated copyright history.

“There is no dispute that the song was co-written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter in late 1965. They assigned their rights to STAX in 1966. After a dispute between STAX and Atlantic, all master recordings created during that agreement became property of Atlantic. For this reason, all licensing in commerce for the song is controlled exclusively by UMPG and Warner Chappell.”

Trump’s campaign argues that they acquired a proper license, a Music License for Political Entities from BMI in 2022.

“Plaintiffs’ complete omission of this fact from the allegations raises serious questions about their candor towards this Court,” reads the Trump filing.

Moore’s declaration also suggested that Hayes was at times sympathetic to Republicans. “During his life, Isaac Hayes, my wife Joyce, and I traveled to South Carolina to perform at the 20th High School Reunion of Lee Atwater when he was Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Hayes did not view Republicans negatively,” said Moore.

U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. granted the plaintiffs’ motion for an emergency hearing, scheduled for Sept. 3 at 10 a.m.

In an email to Law & Crime, attorney James L. Walker, Jr., representing the Hayes estate, expressed gratitude for the granted motion. “We look forward to seeing Mr. Trump and his representatives in Federal Court on September 3rd. Thou Shalt Not Steal!” Walker said.

On Sunday, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) filed an 11-page motion opposing the emergency injunction. TPUSA, named a defendant in the lawsuit, argues it was improperly included. The Hayes estate accused TPUSA of hosting six events where the song was played without authorization. TPUSA claims they did not host or sponsor Trump’s speech or appearance at any of those events and noted that the provided links did not lead to any videos uploaded by TPUSA.

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