Plaintiff Rude Music, Inc. is a music publishing company created by Survivor band member Frank M. Sullivan, III, and holder of rights to the song.
The defendants have some explaining to do, especially since Gingrich argued at a recent South Carolina GOP debate that copyright holders should sue to protect their intellectual property rights:
“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…” (Source: Complaint)
This looks like a case of “do as I say, not as I do,” since Gingrich currently has 41 registrations on file at the U.S. Copyright office (see below) for works that he authored or co-authored.
Gingrich’s titles range from works like 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, America’s Best Zoos, and a civil war history Never Call Retreat.
Newt Gingrich – U.S. Copyright Registrations
Read the copyright infringement complaint against Gingrich below, and follow the case docket here using Justia Dockets:
Complaint: Rude Music, Inc. v. Newt 2012, Inc., Newt Gingrich, and American Conservative Union
There are quite a few videos on the Web that lend evidentiary support to Rude Music’s copyright lawsuit. Here’s one: