Isaac Hayes III Explains Why He Threatened Trump Over Copyright

After threatening to file a lawsuit over the weekend against Donald Trump and his presidential campaign, the White House candidate’s lawyers have continued to ignore the family of the late soul singer Isaac Hayes, as they have alleged for years. Meanwhile, the artist’s son and an attorney representing Hayes’ family have tried to stop the use of a hit song written by the singer at rallies and events, both alleged Monday.

Isaac Hayes III, son of the Grammy-winning soul legend, confirmed, Hollywood Reporter What he posted online over the weekend — that the family is planning to sue over the Trump camp’s use of the Sam & Dave hit song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at its rallies. Hayes said that by his count, the song has been used 135 times over the past several years without the Trump team asking permission or paying to license the classic.

The song was the first hit co-written by Isaac Hayes, and was heard as recently as Aug. 9 at a Trump event in Montana, and earlier, Hayes recalls, at a National Rifle Association rally in 2022, which came in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, in which 19 children and two adults were killed. That Trump ended his speech with this particular song, which he danced to, is particularly egregious to Hayes. Given its title and its playing some 300 miles from a tragic mass shooting that brought scrutiny to local police response, its use to promote guns is disturbing to Hayes.

“I was angry,” Hayes said. Third. “There was a mass shooting. Why are we using that phrase at the NRA convention? I wanted to take legal action because Trump has made comments against women, and here is a man who has been convicted of sexual assault. I am a brother to seven sisters, and I don’t want anyone to think ‘wait’ and think of Donald Trump.”

Over the course of his three campaigns, several artists and music groups have issued public statements saying that Trump and his campaign have used their copyrighted songs at MAGA rallies and campaign events without legal permission, often to galvanize or elicit emotional responses from crowds. Like Hayes, Adele, Earth Wind and Fire, and the estates of Tom Petty and John Fogarty have all issued statements asking the campaign to stop. Last week, Celine Dion also took to social media to disavow the use of “My Heart Will Go On” at a rally.

Under copyright law, a party who feels they have been wronged has a certain time limit to notify the alleged wrongdoer and then must move forward with certain actions. James L. Walker, an attorney representing the Hayes family, said the complaint should be filed now to ensure the case gets underway before time runs out.

“Ultimately, I think Isaac [Jr.] He was gracious in handling the matter by politely asking that the letter be removed. When someone does not respect your time, you have no choice but to take it to the courtroom. He and the late Hayes’ son received radio silence from Trump’s lawyers and administrative staff, they said.

But why is Hayes one of the few who threatened to sue the former president and now hope to get his job back in November? The reason is, first and foremost, Walker says, the hassle and high price of having Trump stand trial.

“Most of these artists don’t want to waste time or any of the smaller artists don’t have the financial resources. And it’s important to know how Mr. Hayes is in that rare category where he understands copyright, understands how to protect yourself, how to protect your publication. So he knows this as well as anyone, if not better,” Walker explained.

Hayes also said that it was only in 2022 that the estate acquired the rights to the 1966 classic that Trump performed on stage with top NRA leaders. Copyright protection begins with the first publication of the work, for 28 years, renewable for an additional 28 years, for a total protection period of 56 years.

As for the potential lawsuit, both Walker and Hayes are confident they will win. Walker explains that copyright law is straightforward, and Trump will lose his case and have to pay more than $3 billion.

“I expect to delete the entire song and the amount that was requested, and never use this song again,” Hayes said.