The White Stripes drop copyright suit against Trump over use of 'Seven Nation Army'

Rock duo The White Stripes has dropped their copyright lawsuit against Presdient-elect Donald Trump which claimed he used their song "Seven Nation Army" in a social media post without a license. 

The Sunday court filing stated that "Plaintiffs John Anthony White and Megan Martha, individually and collectively p/k/a the White Stripes, hereby dismiss without prejudice all claims against Defendants Donald John Trump, Donald J Trump for President 2024, Inc., and Margo McAtee Martin."

The case was filed in September, with the duo from the defunct musical group accusing Trump and his campaign of "flagrant misappropriation" of one of the "most well-known and influential musical works of all time," Billboard reported. When White announced the suit, he referred to Trump as a "fascist."

The clip was posted to Instagram and X by Trump’s deputy director of communications, in which the iconic bass line from the song plays out as Trump ascends the stairs of a plane. White wrote on social media, "Don’t even think about using my music you fascists."

The duo filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in Manhattan federal court two weeks later, claiming that Trump had harmed them by suggesting that they were supporting his campaign. 

Attorneys for the duo wrote, "The new association with defendant Trump that defendants have foisted upon plaintiffs through the infringing Trump videos is even more offensive to plaintiffs because plaintiffs vehemently oppose the policies adopted and actions taken by defendant Trump when he was President and those he has proposed for the second term he seeks."

Billboard noted that while the motion did not explain the reasoning behind dropping the case, federal copyright litigation can take years to play out and is expensive.