A federal judge has granted the Isaac Hayes estate an emergency hearing in their $3 million lawsuit against Donald Trump for the unauthorized use of “Hold On, I’m Coming,” a song co-written by Hayes.
According to a Rolling Stone report, the estate alleges that Trump has played the song at campaign rallies more than 100 times since 2022. Earlier this month, the estate issued a cease-and-desist order and demanded $3 million for the song’s unauthorized use.
On August 10, Isaac Hayes III, the singer’s son tweeted, “Today, on the anniversary of my father Isaac Hayes’ death, we have repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC, and his representatives not to use ‘Hold On, I’m Coming’ during campaign rallies, but it was used again in Montana.”
Hayes III also criticized Trump, saying, “Donald Trump represents the worst in integrity and class with his disrespect and sexual abuse of women and racist rhetoric,” and warned, “We will now deal with this very swiftly.”
The Hayes estate and their attorney, James Walker, acted promptly, serving legal documents to a Trump campaign office in Delaware. This action led to the scheduling of an emergency preliminary injunction hearing at an Atlanta courthouse shortly after Labor Day.
On Saturday, Isaac Hayes III posted on X, “The Federal Court has granted our request for an Emergency Hearing to secure injunctive relief. Donald Trump, the RNC, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point, and the NRA are required to appear in court on September 3, 2024, at the Northern U.S. District Federal Court in Atlanta.”
?Breaking ?The Federal Court has granted our request for an Emergency Hearing to secure injunctive relief.
— Isaac Hayes III (@IsaacHayes3) August 23, 2024
Donald Trump, @realdonaldtrump, the RNC, Trump, Trump for President Inc. 2024, Turning Point and The NRA are required to appear in court September 3rd, 2024 at the…
The estate’s letter explained that the $3 million demand is a “significant discount” compared to the usual licensing fee for multiple uses. The standard fee for such infringements would be 10 times higher, starting at $150,000 per use if pursued through litigation.
Trump was given until August 16 to respond to the letter. When no response was received, the estate escalated the matter to a legal issue, resulting in the emergency hearing scheduled for September 3.
