Gingrich 'Rocky' Campaign Sued by 'Eye of the Tiger' Composer

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeGOP presidential primary contender and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich may consider himself a political Survivor, but the co-composer of the Rocky III theme song "Eye of the Tiger" nonetheless has brought a copyright infringement claim in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to get the Georgia history professor to stop blasting the tune at campaign events.

The five-page complaint in Rude Music Inc. v. Newt 2012 et al. (Case No. 1:12-cv-00640) seeks injunctive relief, along with damages and attorneys' fees against Gingrich's campaign, Newt 2012, as well as the American Conservative Union. Plaintiff Frank Sullivan, owner of Rude Music Inc., co-wrote the Grammy-winning "Eye of the Tiger" with Jim Peterik, and registered the copyright in 1982, according to accounts by Reuters and Associated Press wire services.

The complaint alleges Gingrich co-opted the song without the creators' permission, and has been using it since 2009 to signal his arrival at rallies and other public appearances. Gingrich's campaign has yet to respond to the suit, preferring to direct its invective at front-runner Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama and the news media.

Republican candidates have not had much luck against musicians angry over their works being used in political settings, ranging from Jackson Browne (see "TUOL" post 7/21/09), David Byrne (see "TUOL" post 5/26/10) and Don Henley (see "TUOL" post 6/3/10). If  Rep. Gingrich decides to change his tune, so to speak, the music-loving staff of "TUOL" recommends Frank Sinatra's "Love is Lovelier the Second (er...Third) Time Around," Tina Turner's "Let's Pretend We're Married," Blue October's "Hate Me" or Lisa Marie Presley's "Idiot."

Another GOP Candidate Bested by Rock Star in Copyright Suit

Don Henley via last.fm

The Hollywood Reporter (http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com) reports that a 32-page tentative decision by U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Judge James Selna holds that Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Charles DeVore infringed on the copyright of two songs by Don Henley, former front man of  '70s rock band, The Eagles, in political video ads that appeared on YouTube.

DeVore, who is running against incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer, ran a campaign ad featuring a song "All She Wants to Do Is Tax," based on Henley's All She Wants to Do Is Dance, and a second video boasting the song "After the Hope of November Is Gone," drawn from Henley's The Boys of Summer. Henley, 62, a rocker and political activist behind the Walden Woods Project (1990), filed suit--Don Henley & Mike Campbell v. Charles S. DeVore & Justin Hart (Case No. SACV-09-0481)--alleging infringement under the Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq], as well as  asserting claims under the Lanham Act [15 U.S.C. sec. 1051 et seq] and unfair business practices under the California Business & Professions Code [sec. 17200 et seq.].

Reportedly, the tentative decision rejects DeVore's First Amendment fair use argument as a basis for using Henley's tunes.  Critical to the decision is whether DeVore's YouTube efforts of rewriting lyrics to Henley's copyrighted songs fall into the category of parody or satire.  Satire (which the late Broadway comic playwright George S. Kaufman once defined as "what closes on Saturday night") makes fun of something else, whereas parody takes jibes at the original work and generally has a higher success rate as a defense in copyright cases.

Judge Selna's order allegedly characterizes both campaign ad songs as satire and finds DeVore willfully infringed on Henley's work. Reportedly, Judge Selna rejected Henley's Lanham Act count alleging that the DeVore ads falsely implied the rocker's endorsement of the candidate.

For GOP candidates, who have witnessed Sen. John McCain get tweaked by Jackson Browne (see "TUOL" post 7/21/09) and Gov. Charlie Crist run afoul of David Byrne (see "TUOL" post 5/26/10), it may be time to, borrowing from Henley's discography, Take It Easy, lest they find themselves copyright Desperado(s) One of These Nights.