Isaac Hayes Estate Settles Trump Copyright Lawsuit

The estate of Isaac Hayes and Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign reached a confidential settlement in February 2026, ending the copyright infringement lawsuit over the repeated use of “Hold On, I’m Comin'” at Trump rallies. The Isaac Hayes estate’s Trump copyright lawsuit settlement was filed as a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice on February 23, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, closing a case that had already produced a preliminary injunction against the campaign and survived a motion to dismiss.¹²

What the Settlement Actually Says

The financial terms were not disclosed. The estate had demanded $3 million in its pre-suit letter, but whether the payout approached that figure is not public.² Because the dismissal is with prejudice, neither side can refile the same claims.

The Hayes family said in a statement that they were “satisfied with the outcome.” Isaac Hayes III, who manages the estate, framed the result as broader than the money: “This resolution represents more than the conclusion of a legal matter. It reaffirms the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and copyrights, especially as they relate to legacy, ownership and the responsible use of creative works.”² No public statement from the campaign or its counsel accompanied the settlement filing.³

Because the case ended in settlement rather than trial, there is no damages verdict and no final ruling on infringement that would function as clear precedent for future disputes.

What the Estate Alleged

Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC and the Estate of Isaac Hayes filed suit on August 16, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, case number 1:24-cv-03639.⁴ The complaint said the campaign had played “Hold On, I’m Comin'” at least 133 times across the 2020 and 2024 presidential bids without permission, and that the song continued to appear at rallies and in online videos after the estate had formally cut off the campaign’s license.²

Defendants extended well beyond Trump himself. The amended complaint named Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc., the Republican National Committee, the National Rifle Association of America, the American Conservative Union, Turning Point USA, Turning Point Action, and BTC Inc., reflecting allegations that the song had been used at events hosted by allied organizations as well as the campaign’s own rallies.⁵

The Hayes family had objected for years. When the song played at a 2022 NRA convention featuring Trump, co-writer David Porter tweeted “Hell to the NO!” and Isaac Hayes III later said the family and its representatives had “repeatedly asked Donald Trump, the RNC and his representatives not to use” the track.⁶⁷

Before filing, the estate sent a demand requiring the campaign to stop using the song, remove related videos, issue a public disclaimer, and pay $3 million. The deadline was August 16, 2024, the same day the suit was filed.⁷

Who Owned the Song

Copyright ownership sat at the heart of the campaign’s defense, so the chain matters. Hayes and Porter wrote “Hold On, I’m Comin'” in 1966 for Sam & Dave. After Hayes’s death in 2008, his estate filed notice in December 2014 to terminate previous copyright transfers to Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music. That termination took effect on March 15, 2022, 56 years after the song’s original publication, and Isaac Hayes Enterprises regained a 50% share.⁸

Under a March 2023 agreement, that 50% was split between Isaac Hayes Enterprises (25%) and Primary Wave Music IP Fund 3 (25%), with the estate retaining approval rights over all licensing.⁸ The Trump campaign argued in court that the estate was not the proper copyright holder, pointing at Universal Music Publishing. The court rejected that argument.

The Injunction That Shaped the Case

The campaign held a BMI “Political Entities” blanket license and pointed to it as authorization. BMI’s political license, however, lets songwriters or publishers opt out for a specific licensee. A representative for the Hayes catalog requested the exclusion, and BMI notified the campaign on June 6, 2024, that “Hold On, I’m Comin'” was excluded from its license effective immediately.⁹ The campaign kept playing the song, including at a Montana rally on August 9, 2024.⁷

The estate sought an emergency injunction, and Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. held a hearing in September 2024. On September 11, 2024, Judge Thrash granted the preliminary injunction, barring the defendants from any future public performance of the song without a valid license. Applying the Eleventh Circuit’s four-part test, he found the estate had shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits: the plaintiffs proved copyright ownership, and any performances after June 6, 2024 were unlicensed. He found irreparable harm, concluding that continued use risked “marring their brand” through unwanted political association that money alone could not fix. He rejected the campaign’s argument that the injunction restricted “core political speech,” finding no evidence that banning one song would inhibit political messaging.⁹

The judge declined the estate’s request to order removal of existing rally videos already posted online, saying that question would be decided at trial. Ronald Coleman, personal legal counsel for Trump, told reporters the campaign was “very gratified that the court recognised the First Amendment issues at stake and didn’t order a takedown of existing videos,” adding that “the campaign has no interest in annoying or hurting anyone.”¹⁰

The Case Narrowed but Kept Going

The campaign moved to dismiss. On April 25, 2025, Judge Thrash denied the motion on the copyright infringement claim, finding the plaintiffs had “plausibly alleged ownership” and that the case was strong enough to move into discovery. He acknowledged “quite a few” problems with the initial complaint but did not treat them as fatal.¹¹

The estate did not get everything through. Judge Thrash dismissed the trademark infringement claims and the claims brought under Georgia’s right of publicity statute, narrowing the case to its copyright core.¹¹ With the copyright claim heading toward discovery and trial, the two sides settled ten months later.

Why Campaigns Keep Losing These Fights

The Hayes case fit a pattern. Eddy Grant sued over the use of “Electric Avenue” in a 2020 Trump campaign video, and in September 2024 U.S. District Judge John Koetl found Trump liable for copyright infringement, calling the video “a wholesale copying of music to accompany a political campaign ad.” Grant and Trump settled on undisclosed terms two months later.¹² The White Stripes sued over “Seven Nation Army” and dismissed the case without prejudice in November 2024 after the campaign deleted the video.¹³ Beyoncé, Celine Dion, the Foo Fighters, and ABBA publicly objected to uses of their music but did not sue.¹⁴

The legal mechanics are consistent across these disputes. Political campaigns typically buy blanket licenses from performing rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI, which cover the public performance of millions of songs. Political licenses, though, let individual songwriters opt out and pull their catalogs from coverage for that specific campaign. Once an artist opts out, continued use without a direct license is infringement. Campaigns have repeatedly raised fair use, arguing that playing a song at a rally or in an ad is political speech or commentary. Courts have consistently rejected that, finding the use is not “transformative” enough to qualify.¹⁴

Liz Garner, the copyright administrator for the estate, drew a practical lesson for other musicians from the outcome: “copyright coverage is not automatic,” and artists who fail to properly register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office may not be able to take the legal steps the Hayes family did.¹⁵

1
Deadline. Isaac Hayes Trump Settlement
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Rolling Stone. Isaac Hayes Estate Settles Trump Hold On Rallies Copyright
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Daily Report Online. MAGA Nation Ripped Me Apart This Atlanta Attorney Got Trumps Lawyers to Settle
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CourtListener. Isaac Hayes Enterprises LLC v Trump
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GovInfo. USCOURTS Isaac Hayes Enterprises v Trump
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Fox 59. Trump Campaign Must Stop Using Hold On Im Coming After Lawsuit From Family of Songs Co-Writer
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WREG. Family of Isaac Hayes Suing Donald Trump for Using Music at Rally
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Digital Music News. So Who Owns Isaac Hayes Song Hold On Im Coming
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CLL. Court Enjoins Use of Song at Campaign Events in Hayes v Trump
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BBC News. Isaac Hayes Trump Hold On Im Coming Lawsuit
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Bloomberg Law. Trump Narrows Cant Escape Hold On IP Suit From Hayes Heirs
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Deadline. Trump Eddy Grant Electric Avenue Lawsuit
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The Guardian. The White Stripes Drop Lawsuit Against Trump Campaign for Unauthorised Seven Nation Army Use
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NPR. Donald Trump Music Copyright Law
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Musically. Isaac Hayes Estate Reveals Resolution of Presidential Lawsuit