Trump settles lawsuit with Electric Avenue singer Eddy Grant

November 21, 2024 at 3:39 p.m

President-elect Donald Trump settled his copyright lawsuit with “Electric Avenue” singer Eddy Grant on Wednesday after he used the song during his 2020 presidential campaign against Joe Biden without permission.

The lawsuit arose after a social media post Trump shared on the 2020 campaign that incorporated Grant’s 1983 song. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl issued a statement in the decision, saying the issue has been resolved.

“After the Court was notified that the parties have settled this action, it is ordered that this case be terminated with prejudice, but without court costs,” the statement reads.

Details of the agreement were not disclosed by either party.

Trump failed to get the lawsuit dismissed in 2021 and entered discovery. His lawyers tried to argue that the social media video presented “a different and transformed purpose from that of the original song” and was usable due to fair use. Koeltl said the use was essentially “wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad.”

The video in question was a 55-second animation showing a high-speed Trump train overtaking a slow-moving Biden trolley. The video on social media featured 40 seconds of Grant’s “Electric Avenue.”

Grant is far from the only musician taking legal action against the president-elect for misusing their songs. Two months ago, The White Stripes sued Trump for using their song “Seven Nation Army” in social media posts. Two weeks ago, Jack and Meg White voluntarily dismissed their copyright infringement suit without prejudice. The decision came less than a week after Trump won the election.

“This car sues the fascists,” Jack initially said Instagram when the music duo first filed their lawsuit in September.