Henley

ORDER RE MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Musician Don Henley (“Henley”) claims that politician Charles DeVore (“DeVore”) infringed the copyrighted songs “The Boys of Summer” and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” with two political advertisements featuring the songs “The Hope of November” and “All She Wants to Do Is Tax.” DeVore claims fair use. The Court also considers whether DeVore’s songs falsely suggest endorsement by Henley.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Henley is a world-famous, Grammy-winning, multi-platinum-albumselling songwriter and recording artist. He is a founding member, of the Eagles, credited with one of the best-selling albums of all time. He has also enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing the multiplatinum album Building the Perfect Beast in 1984. Two of the songs on the album, “The Boys of Summer” (“Summer”) and “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” (“Dance”), were top-ten hits at the time.

“Summer” was written by Henley and Plaintiff Mike Campbell (“Campbell”), a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and the two jointly own the copyright to the song. The main theme of the song is the singer’s nostalgia for a past summer romance, though the Defendants…