Team Trump Trolls Taylor Swift With Song Use Before Copyright Claim Brings Silence; Deadline, August 8, 2026

  Greg Evans, Deadline ; Team Trump Trolls Taylor Swift With Song Use Before Copyright Claim Brings Silence

"A TikTok video posted to the White House account earlier this week depicted the president and First Lady Melania Trump from behind as they watched a fireworks display in a night sky. The text over the photo read, “Mood because it’s August and Donald Trump is your president.” 

The video was accompanied by the Swift song “august,” and at the bottom of image was a note from “Team Trump” saying, “I’m sure @Taylor Swift is going to be super excited we used her song!”

The trolling was short lived though. By last night, both the song (from Swift’s Folklore album) and the teasing note were removed from the account, replaced with a message in the U.S. reading, “The copyright owner hasn’t made this sound available in your country.”"

A BILL MOVING THROUGH CONGRESS COULD CHANGE WHO CONTROLS THE US COPYRIGHT OFFICE. HERE’S WHY IT MATTERS FOR THE MUSIC BUSINESS.; Music Business Worldwide, June 4, 2026

 MURRAY STASSEN , Music Business Worldwide; A BILL MOVING THROUGH CONGRESS COULD CHANGE WHO CONTROLS THE US COPYRIGHT OFFICE. HERE’S WHY IT MATTERS FOR THE MUSIC BUSINESS.

"The bill arrives in the middle of an ongoing fight over the US Copyright Office and the firing of its director.

In May 2025, the Trump administration fired top copyright official Shira Perlmutter, a day after her office released a report concluding that training AI on copyrighted works qualifies as fair use in some circumstances but not others.

The administration had first removed Carla D. Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, and installed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as acting Librarian, who then moved to replace Perlmutter with Department of Justice official Paul Perkins.

Perlmutter sued the administration, arguing that only the Librarian of Congress, not the President, has the power to appoint or remove the Register of Copyrights.

A federal appeals court reinstated Perlmutter in September 2025, and she remains in the role while the legal battle continues.

That fight turns on the same question Griffith‘s bill addresses: whether the Register of Copyrights is an executive or a legislative officer...

Running alongside the legislation is the unresolved Perlmutter case.

The Supreme Court declined to act on her firing in late 2025, leaving Perlmutter in place while it weighs related disputes over the President’s power to remove officials.

Both the bill and the lawsuit circle the same question – whether the Register answers to the President or to Congress.

Griffith says a Senate-confirmed Register with a fixed term would give the office steadier leadership and clearer oversight.

Critics counter that a presidential appointee would politicize copyright and AI policy, and could disrupt the registration and deposit systems the Library of Congress depends on."

Colbert ‘Charlie Brown’ Joke Conjures Untested Copyright Theory; Bloomberg Law, May 29, 2026

  Kyle Jahner, Bloomberg Law; Colbert ‘Charlie Brown’ Joke Conjures Untested Copyright Theory

"But use of the music also touches on issues involving “synchronization rights"—a separate right to use music that appears in an audio-visual work.

The concept arose from a 1948 New York federal court case describing the form of copyright movie studios acquired in order to use music in their films. Theaters didn’t have to separately pay the performance rights organization for the right to use the songs on top of rights to play the movie because the movie producer already had paid for the right to incorporate the music into their work, the court said.

How exactly that right relates to taped television performances and rebroadcasts on TV and online isn’t well-tested. 

John Simson, a professor of IP law at American University, said there’s a broad assumption that a sync license is required to do virtually anything with a taped performance.

“Publishers in the US have taken the position that it’s a sync even if you just show video of a performance,” said Simson, former executive director of sound recording rights clearinghouse SoundExchange. “I don’t really agree with that.” 

“No one’s really gone to the mat on that” by taking a case far enough to set precedential boundaries for what kinds of re-uses of already-licensed works require a distinct sync license, he said."

STEPHEN COLBERT USES COPYRIGHTED ‘PEANUTS’ MUSIC DURING FINALE: ‘I HOPE THIS DOESN’T COST CBS ANY MONEY!’; Rolling Stone, May 22, 2026

 ELISABETH GARBER-PAUL , Rolling Stone; STEPHEN COLBERT USES COPYRIGHTED ‘PEANUTS’ MUSIC DURING FINALE: ‘I HOPE THIS DOESN’T COST CBS ANY MONEY!’

"During the final episode of The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert purposely used copyrighted music during a segment, a move that could potentially cost his former bosses at CBS a lot of dough if the music was unauthorized, and the usage were to end in a lawsuit.

“Peanuts is a powerful brand and corporation in and of itself. Anyone illegally using that music is going to have to pay through the nose,” he said, before addressing his band leader, Louis Cato. “Louis, Louis! Is the band right now playing the same Peanuts music I just said people were being sued for, for using without permission? Is that what you’re doing?” The band was indeed launching into the familiar Vince Guaraldi song. “Oh no, I hope this doesn’t cost CBS any money!” Colbert said."

NANCY SINATRA SLAMS TRUMP FOR SHARING FRANK SINATRA ‘MY WAY’ VIDEO: ‘SACRILEGE’; Rolling Stone, April 20, 2026

 EMILY ZEMLER , Rolling Stone; NANCY SINATRA SLAMS TRUMP FOR SHARING FRANK SINATRA ‘MY WAY’ VIDEO: ‘SACRILEGE’

"Nancy Sinatra criticized Donald Trump for posting a video of her father Frank Sinatra performing his 1969 song “My Way” on Truth Social over the weekend. 

On Saturday, the president inexplicably posted a clip of Sinatra singing the iconic tune at Madison Square Garden in 1974. One of Sinatra’s fans brought it to her attention on X, writing, “Omg, @NancySinatra will not be happy about this. Trump goes against everything that Frank stood for. He was a big champion for equality and supported the Civil Rights movement.” 

Sinatra responded, “This is a sacrilege.” After another fan asked if there was anything she could do to prevent Trump posting the song she replied, “Unfortunately no. The only people who can do something are the publishers.”

Why A Potential Supreme Court Copyright Decision Could Change The Music Business; Forbes, April 9, 2026

 Bill Hochberg, Forbes; Why A Potential Supreme Court Copyright Decision Could Change The Music Business 

"There’s billions at stake for music companies and investors who may get a big hit – and not the kind they like – if the U.S. Supreme Court decides music creators and their heirs can get back their copyrights worldwide."

Taking Copyright Out to the Ball Game: A Closer Look at Baseball’s Most Famous Tunes; Library of Congress Blogs: Copyright Creativity at Work, March 26, 2026

 Nicole McNew Chen, Library of Congress Blogs: Copyright Creativity at Work; Taking Copyright Out to the Ball Game: A Closer Look at Baseball’s Most Famous Tunes

"In 1908, lyricist Jack Norworth and composer Albert Von Tilzer wrote what would become one of the most recognized and most sung musical works in the United States: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” In a relatively short period, it was performed for the first time, registered with the Copyright Office, and published in a series of sheet music depicting vaudeville stars on the covers. The song was an instant hit, though it wouldn’t become the baseball theme we know today until much later. With Opening Day and the start of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, we’re looking at the history of the song and copyright’s connection to America’s favorite pastime."

Music Copyright in the Gen AI Age: Where Are We Now?; Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Law Blog, February 11, 2026

 Sam Woods , Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Law Blog; Music Copyright in the Gen AI Age: Where Are We Now?

"Imagine you are a musician who has dedicated years of your life creating an album or EP — tinkering with the production, revising lyrics, finding the perfect samples— and now, you have finally shared your art with the world and are thrilled with the project’s success. However, while scrolling on TikTok a few months later, you hear some familiar audio. Wait a minute, is that one of your songs? No… not quite, but why does it sound so similar? Turns out, the song was created using artificial intelligence (“AI”)."

‘AN IMPORTANT STEP’: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS REPORT ON COPYRIGHT AND GENERATIVE AI; Billboard, March 11, 2026

Lars Brandle , Billboard; ‘AN IMPORTANT STEP’: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS REPORT ON COPYRIGHT AND GENERATIVE AI

"Two years after the European Parliament passed the Artificial Intelligence Act, MEPs this week finally adopted a report on copyright and generative AI.

On Tuesday, March 10, Parliament passed its resolution on “Copyright and generative artificial intelligence – opportunities and challenges” with an overwhelming majority of 460 votes to 71, and with 88 abstentions.

The report calls for the EU and its 27 member states to focus on the crucial issues of how AI and tech companies engage with copyright-protected music in the digital age, and explores a licensing system as a solution, paving the way for fair compensation for the use of creative works."