Donald Trump May Have Violated Lanham Act With Taylor Swift Image Use

Donald Trump may have broken the law by sharing a fake image of Taylor Swift endorsing his campaign, a legal expert has said.
Trump also shared other images from a loose group of Taylor Swift fans who support Trump called Swifties for Trump.
In an artificial intelligence-generated image, Swift was dressed like Uncle Sam, similar to a World War I recruitment poster, with the words: “Taylor Swift Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump.”
Trump captioned the post on his Truth Social account with the words: “I accept!”
Swift backed Joe Biden in the 2020 election but has not declared for any candidate in this election cycle.
One legal commentator said that Swift could sue Trump under the Lanham Act, through which celebrities can sue to protect their image.
“The Lanham Act—which Congress adopted quite some time ago—protects celebrity ‘brands’ and gives celebrities a cause of action against people or corps that try to use the celebrity’s likeness to mislead consumers,” Pace University law professor Leslie Garfield Tenzer told Forbes.
However, she said that Swift would first have to show that voters could be considered “consumers” under the Lanham Act.
“Admittedly voters are not necessarily consumers in this context—being asked to vote—but I think an analogy could be made,” she said.
“Certainly she could probably order a cease-and-desist here and sue for misappropriation of likeness,” Garfield Tenzer added.
The Lanham Act was introduced in 1948 to protect trademarks and their “distinctiveness” and prevent images being used for sale advertising.
Newsweek sought email comment from the Trump campaign on Wednesday.
Musicians can stop their music and their image from being used by election candidates, a music attorney has told Newsweek.
Larry Iser, managing partner at KHIKS law firm, has previously had to fight for Talking Heads’ David Byrne and singer Jackson Browne to stop their music being used at Republican Party rallies.
“When an artist discovers that their music, or their intellectual property, is being used without consent, it is always best to contact a legal representative ASAP in order to send a demand letter putting the infringing person or entity on notice that it is not OK,” Iser said.
He said that the Lanham Act could help.
“Artists should also consider suing the campaign for right of publicity and false endorsement under the Lanham Act,” he said.
Iser represented singer/songwriter Jackson Browne in a lawsuit alleging that Republican presidential candidate John McCain infringed Browne’s copyright by using the song “Running On Empty” in a 2008 campaign commercial.
The case was settled on confidential financial terms and McCain made an apology.
He also represented Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne in a lawsuit against then-Florida Governor Charlie Crist for using the Talking Heads song “Road To Nowhere” in a 2010 commercial. The case was resolved with a confidential settlement and an apology.
Bruce Springsteen also stopped Donald Trump from using “Born In The USA,” while former Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr, recently announced that he would stop Trump rallies from using the Smiths song “Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want.”