Sponsored Links

Gingrich sued over use of "Rocky III" theme song

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks at a rally in Orlando, Florida January 30, 2012. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

U.S. Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks at a rally in Orlando, Florida January 30, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

By Rebecca Hamilton

NEW YORK | Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:22pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich faces a lawsuit over his use of "Eye of the Tiger," the theme song to the movie "Rocky III," court documents show.

The claim for copyright infringement, lodged on Monday by Rude Music Inc in an Illinois federal court, relates to Gingrich's use of the song at his political rallies.

Rude Music Inc is owned by Frank Sullivan, who co-wrote the Grammy-award winning song. In addition to Gingrich, the complaint names his campaign, Newt 2012 Inc, and the American Conservative Union, an advocacy organization, as defendants.

The complaint states that the violation it alleges is intentional since Gingrich is "sophisticated and knowledgeable" concerning copyright laws. Rude Music Inc has requested the court to order an end to unauthorized use of the song by the defendants, and to award Rude Music Inc damages.

A Gingrich campaign spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case is Rude Music Inc v Newt 2012 et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, no. 1:12-cv-00640.

(Reporting by Rebecca Hamilton; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Music
Barack Obama
Election 2012
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (5)
cogboy wrote:
and Bullwinkle turned down the #2 spot on the ticket

Jan 30, 2012 11:40pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jcfl wrote:
and then again newt skirts with illegality. not really surprising given his past transgressions both in politics and life.

Jan 31, 2012 7:42am EST  --  Report as abuse
fred5407 wrote:
It is hard to see clearly with so much muck raking and mud slinging. I think that the media is grasping for straws and about the laziest bunch of schmucks I have ever seen.

Jan 31, 2012 11:25am EST  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »