Gingrich Sued for 'Eye of the Tiger'
Though "Eye of the Tiger" is an appropriate theme song for Newt Gingrich's rocky campaign, one of its writers doesn't wish to be associated with the candidate and is suing Newt for using the song in his various appearances. Frank Sullivan, a founding member of Survivor, the band that created the song (best known for its prominent use in Rocky III), filed a lawsuit yesterday stating that "Newt 2012, Inc.’s and Mr. Gingrich’s use of the copyrighted work is unlicensed and unauthorized." He's seeking damages that have yet to be determined. From the video here and here, you can see that Gingrich has been more than happy to use the song as his theme music. The lawsuit points out more specific instances on the campaign trail, citing various Iowa appearances where he used the music.
RELATED: It's Morning in America in Newt's New Iowa Ad
CBS reports Gingrich joings Charlie Crist, John McCain and Michele Bachmann as politicians who were served up legal papers for attaching themselves to a theme song. But it's Sullivan's (and his legal team's) argument that Gingrich is a copyright maven (and therefore should know better), that caught our eye:
According to the records of the United States Copyright Office, Mr. Gingrich is the author or co-author of over forty copyrighted works. During his tenure in the United States House of Representatives, the Copyright Act was extensively amended...
Finally, at a recent debate in South Carolina, Mr. Gingrich criticized the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, stating, "We have a patent office, we have copyright law. If a company finds that it has genuinely been infringed upon, it has the right to sue..."
For the full legal document, head over here.
