President-elect Donald Trump settled his copyright lawsuit with “Electric Avenue” singer Eddy Grant on Wednesday after using the song during his 2020 presidential campaign against Joe Biden without permission.
The lawsuit came about after a social media post Trump shared on the 2020 campaign trail that incorporated Grant’s 1983 song. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl released a statement in the decision saying the matter was settled.
“It having been reported to this Court that the parties have settled this action, it is hereby ordered that this matter be discontinued with prejudice but without costs,” the statement read.
Details of the settlement have not been disclosed by either party.
Trump failed to get the lawsuit dismissed back in 2021 and it went forward into discovery. His lawyers attempted to argue that the social media video featured “a different and transformed purpose from that of the original Song” and was useable 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 that shows a high-speed Trump train outpacing a slow Biden handcart. The social media video featured 40 seconds of Grant’s “Electric Avenue.”
Grant is far from the only musician in legal pursuits against the president-elect for wrongful use of 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 machine sues fascists,” Jack initially shared on Instagram when the musical duo first filed their lawsuit back in September.
