After four years of legal back-and-forth, British musician Eddy Grant successfully won his copyright infringement case against Donald Trump and his 2020 campaign team. The issue at the center of the lawsuit was the unauthorized use of Grant’s hit song Electric Avenue in a campaign tweet, which Judge John Koeltl ultimately deemed a clear violation of copyright law. The trial’s duration, however, raises serious questions about the efficiency of the legal process and whether a drawn-out battle was truly necessary.

The case revolved around a tweet that featured a short animation using Electric Avenue without Grant’s permission. Despite receiving a cease-and-desist notice, Trump’s team did not remove the post, forcing Grant to pursue legal action. As early as September 2021, Judge Koeltl had pointed out that Trump’s fair use defense was weak, describing the use as “wholesale copying” for political purposes. Still, the case dragged on until September 2024, when the judge once again ruled in Grant’s favor, calling the defense’s use of the song “non-transformative” and commercially beneficial, as it avoided paying a licensing fee. Grant now awaits the resolution of damages, with his initial claim standing at $300,000.

This four-year saga exemplifies why mediation would have been a far better approach for both parties. As early as 2020, Grant had proposed settling the case privately before filing the lawsuit, an offer that Trump’s team ignored. Had they taken this opportunity, both sides could have saved time, resources, and money. By choosing litigation over negotiation, the defense prolonged a case that was, from the outset, unfavorable to them. Judge Koeltl’s early opinions repeatedly emphasized that the fair use defense was unlikely to succeed, but the case continued unnecessarily for years.

The drawn-out nature of this legal battle highlights how mediation could have offered a more efficient resolution. For instance, the defense could have acknowledged their mistake early on, and both parties could have negotiated terms that addressed damages without resorting to a costly trial. Additionally, this would have avoided the need for both sides to endure the exhaustive process of legal discovery, court motions, and prolonged uncertainty over the outcome.

In hindsight, the refusal to settle quickly resulted in a comprehensive legal defeat for Trump’s team, along with a significant waste of time and financial resources. Mediation would have been a swifter, more pragmatic approach that would have allowed all parties involved to move on with minimal disruption to their lives.

You can find Judge Koeltl’s opinion and order here:  https://torrentfreak.com/images/1-20-cv-07103-Grant-v-Trump-memorandum-and-opinion-doc-142-240913.pdf