NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Guyanese recording artist Eddy Grant has sued the campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump over the use of Grant’s music in campaign materials.
In August, Grant’s legal counsel, Wallace E.J. Collins sent the Trump campaign a cease-and-desist letter after Grant’s hit “Electric Avenue” was used in a video showcasing unflattering comments by Trump’s opponent, Democratic hopeful Joe Biden.
In his letter, Collins said: “you have made an unauthorized use of our copyrighted work in connection with the political campaign of Donald Trump.” He continued, “as a result of your wrongful unauthorized Infringing Use in connection with your controversial political campaign, substantial damage and irreparable harm has occurred and will continue to occur to my client and his reputation as an artist when affiliated in any way with your campaign.”
Apparently, the Trump Campaign did not comply with the cease-and-desist, and on Tuesday, Grant filed a complaint in federal court over the matter.
In the suit, Grant alleges two counts of copyright infringement and seeks monetary damages equal to “all gains, profits and advantages derived by Defendants from their infringements of Plaintiffs’ copyrights … or such statutory damages as to the Court shall appear just as specified in 17 U.S.C. §504(c)(1), that is not more than One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00)
nor less than Seven Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($750.00) for each infringement.”
Grant also seeks to enjoin the President and his team from continued use of his copyrighted material.
“I can understand the flagrant abuse of my rights being attributed to the worst Third World nation in the world, wherever that can be found; one that does not preach democracy on every available occasion, but I fail to understand however, that such an organization dedicated to the promotion of the President of the United States, could so seriously abuse my rights as an artist, composer, arranger, producer and ultimately, the owner of these abused rights”, Grant said in a statement in August.
