This week, Rude Music, Inc., owner of the copyrighted and Grammy-winning song "Eye of the Tiger," filed suit in Chicago federal court against Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign for playing the song without permission at a September rally in Grayson, Kentucky for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The song was played as Mike Huckabee escorted Ms. Davis out of the Carter County Detention Center.
It seems that Mike Huckabee is himself an author or co-author of more than a dozen copyrighted works. According to Rude Music, Mr. Huckabee is also a repeat offender. Rude Music's complaint alleges that, during Mr. Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign, the founder of the band Boston demanded that his campaign stop playing the Boston hit "More than a Feeling" at campaign events. Rude Music's complaint says that many staffers and consultants of Mr. Huckabee's 2016 presidential campaign are alumni of his 2008 campaign and thus knew, or should have known, that "Eye of the Tiger" could not be publicly performed without license or permission from the copyright owner. Rude Music alleges willful infringement and demands not only an injunction against further public performances of "Eye of the Tiger," but also enhanced damages.
It is difficult to imagine how the Huckabee campaign for President can escape paying for their unauthorized performance of "Eye of the Tiger." Perhaps they decided that the song was so appropriate to the event that risking willful infringement would be worth it. It will be interesting to see how the Huckabee campaign responds to the lawsuit. Notwithstanding the court of public opinion, the U.S. district court (or a jury) may not be sympathetic.
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