Trump lawyers claim musician Isaac Hayes didn't view GOP 'negatively' in song dispute

Lawyers for Donald Trump fired back at the family of soul musician Isaac Hayes over the weekend after the estate sued the former president's 2024 campaign for using the song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" without permission.

In August, Trump was sued by the Hayes estate for using the song at least 134 times at campaign events. Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC sought $3 million for "unpaid licensing fees."

But on Saturday, Trump campaign lawyers filed documents arguing that Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC did not own copyright to the song. Hayes wrote the song with David Porter's help in 1966.

The Trump campaign's filing said Hayes' estate "failed to meet any of the well-established requirements on which the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction must be grounded."

"Following a number of transactions over the decades, during which the rights to 'Hold On, I'm Coming' were held or purchased by various publishers, they ended up being split between Universal Music Group Publishing (UMPG), which owns the majority of the rights, and Warner Chappell Music Publishing," Trump's filing asserted.

"For this reason, all licensing in commerce of 'Hold On, I'm Coming,' including for commercials, movies, or television as a work protected by copyright, is controlled exclusively on behalf of UMPG and Warner Chappell by UMPG as the majority holder of the copyright interest."

A declaration by Sam Moore, the surviving member of Sam and Dave which is the soul duo that originally recorded the song, claimed that Hayes had supported Republican causes while he was alive.

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"I wish to bring to the Court's attention that there is good reason for it to reject the presumptions suggested by the plaintiffs concerning the political views of Isaac Hayes," Moore explained. "In fact, during his life Isaac Hayes, my wife Joyce and I traveled to Columbia, South Carolina to perform at the 20th High School Reunion of Lee Atwater when he was Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Isaac also participated in an album project for Lee Atwater with Billy Preston, Chuck Jackson, Carla Thomas and myself. Isaac did not view Republicans or the Republican Party negatively while he was alive."

U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. was expected to hear arguments on the lawsuit Tuesday at 10 a.m.

(h/t: Law & Crime)