The Guardian - Martin Pengelly
Reggae singer Eddy Grant may succeed where the attorney general of New York state and other powerful figures have struggled – by forcing Donald Trump to answer questions under oath in a legal proceeding.
In the ad, Grant’s song plays over an animation of Joe Biden traveling slowly in a handcar, after a Trump campaign train passes at high speed. Remarks from Biden are also heard.
According to Grant’s lawsuit: “As of 1 September 2020, the video had been viewed more than 13.7m times; the tweet containing the video had been ‘liked’ more than 350,000 times, re-tweeted more than 139,000 times, and had received nearly 50,000 comments.”
Grant claims copyright infringement and seeks $300,000 in damages. Trump has failed to have the suit dismissed.
Lawyers for the former president have claimed fair use, saying the ad was satire, exempt from copyright law, and used footage reposted without knowing its origin. They have also said Trump cannot be sued because of “presidential absolute immunity”.
Last September, Judge John Koeltl wrote: “Defendants have offered no justification for their extensive borrowing.”
This week, in a letter to the judge reported by Business Insider, a lawyer for Grant said he wrote “with consent from defendants Donald J Trump and Donald J Trump for President, Inc … to request a 60-day extension for the parties to complete discovery”.
Replies
It takes a Caribbean man. Our history is that we continue to 'punch above our weight class'. Only that we don't know it.