Former President Donald Trump famously lived on Fifth Avenue in New York and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., but he may have to stay away from “Electric Avenue.”
Trump has until the end of the day to respond to a copyright lawsuit brought by Eddy Grant, the British-Guyanese singer/songwriter who wrote and recorded the 1983 hit “Electric Avenue.”
Grant sued over alleged unauthorized use of the song in an animated video created by a third party during the 2020 campaign and posted by former President Trump on his personal Twitter account. The 55-second video endorsed Trump’s reelection and “sought to denigrate the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee, now-President Joseph R. Biden,” court records said.
Trump unsuccessfully sought to dismiss Grant’s claim, making a fair use argument, but a federal judge in New York would not allow it.
“The defendants concede that the video here is clearly satire, not a parody of Electric Avenue or Grant, and the defendants have offered no justification for their extensive borrowing,” Judge John Koeltl wrote.
The judge later set October 18 as the date the former president’s answer is due.
“Electric Avenue” spent five weeks at #2 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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