Celebrities

Neil Young Withdraws Suit Against Donald Trump For Using Unauthorized Music

SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – Neil Young, 75, withdrew from the lawsuit against American President Donald Trump, 74, using his music at campaign events. This Monday (7), the copyright lawsuit was filed, according to the Hollywood Reporter magazine website.

The lawsuit was dismissed after the judgment on the merits, which is a strong sign that an agreement may have been reached between the parties. The lawyers involved have not yet clarified whether this was the case. The lawsuit ended on the day Trump was to be brought to court to respond to the musician’s claims.

In August, the Canadian singer-songwriter filed a lawsuit against the then candidate for reelection, who played, without authorization, the songs “Rockin ‘in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” at a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“The plaintiff cannot allow his music to be used as a theme for a divisive, non-American campaign of ignorance and hatred,” said the draft document, released by AFP at the time. According to the agency, the indemnity could reach US $ 150 thousand (about R $ 765 thousand in the current exchange rate).

The musician has repeatedly criticized the use of his successes during Trump’s campaign for the November presidential election, urging the president to stop doing so. And, remember, this was not the first time that the politician did this.

The same happened in 2015, when Trump announced his candidacy for the presidency with the song “Rockin in a Free World”. In the following year’s elections – which elected Trump – Neil Young announced support for Bernie Sanders.

At the time, the musician also threatened the prosecutor for the same reason. However, he ended up discovering that the BMI label and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Editors had given permission to play the songs on the campaign sites.

Several internationally renowned artists, such as Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Aerosmith and Adele, complained about Trump’s use of his music. In June, the Rolling Stones threatened to take legal action against the Republican for using the classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in campaign acts.

Trump also faces another copyright lawsuit related to the music universe. In this case, it is the song “Electric Avenue”, by Eddy Grant, which was used in a campaign video. Trump’s defense is trying the “fair use” doctrine, which allows the use of copyrighted material under certain circumstances.

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