Journalist and author Bob Woodward is trying to halt Donald Trump's nearly $50 million lawsuit that claims the writer needed to get the former president's permission before using taped interviews for Woodward's audio-book version of his 2020 publication "Rage," Reuters reported.
Woodward is citing Trump's demand for royalties from the interview, saying that no president has ever made such a request.
"This long tradition of candid reporting depends on an axiomatic principle--reflected in copyright law's prohibition on private ownership of government works--that the words a sitting President speaks about the discharge of his office belong to the People," the motion said.
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Woodward's legal team said the interviews were "classic news reporting" that advanced "the need to convey information to the public accurately," and are protected by fair use laws.
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As Reuters points out, Woodward interviewed Trump 19 times between Dec. 2019 and Aug. 2020, many of which were used to write the book.
Read the full report over at Reuters.
