CNN
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A federal judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump and his campaign team must stop using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.”

The decision came after the estate of the late R&B artist and songwriter Isaac Hayes filed for an injunction to prevent the Trump campaign from using the song at campaign events, arguing that the campaign did not have permission to do so.

Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. announced the decision in his office in a court in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I instruct Trump and his campaign not to use the song without an appropriate license,” he said.

The judge denied a request by the Hayes estate to force the Trump campaign to delete all previously recorded uses of the song.

Ronald Coleman, a lawyer for Trump, told media representatives after the hearing that “the campaign has no interest in upsetting or hurting anyone. And if the Hayes family feels like it hurts or upsets them, that’s fine, we’re not going to force the issue.”

Coleman said they were glad the judge did not order the campaign to stop all previous uses of the song.

Hayes died in 2008 from the effects of a stroke. He was 65 years old.

The 1966 song, co-written by Hayes and David Porter, was performed by Sam Moore and Dave Prater, known as Sam & Dave. Prater died in 1988.

CNN has reached out to a spokesperson for Moore for comment.

Court documents obtained by CNN show that lawyers for Hayes’ estate claim the campaign did not obtain a “valid public performance license” and are seeking “damages for the unauthorized use” of Hayes’ music.

Hayes’ estate claims that Trump began using Hayes’ material as “outro” music at campaign rallies in 2020 and continued to do so in 2024, as evidenced by one of Trump’s recent posts on Truth Social, in which “Hold On, I’m Comin'” can be heard at a rally.

“We are very grateful and happy with Judge Thrash’s decision,” Isaac Hayes III said after the hearing. “I want this to provide an opportunity for other artists to come forward who do not want their music used by Donald Trump or other political actors.”

In their response to the lawsuit, lawyers for the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign claim that Hayes’ estate is not the licensee of the song.

On Monday, Hayes III released a letter dated June 5, 2024, which he said came from BMI, an organization that collects royalties from companies for the use of music.

“Donald Trump for President has been claiming for weeks that they have a valid @BMI license to play ‘Hold On, I’m Coming.’ FALSE,” the post on X reads. “Donald Trump for President hasn’t had a valid license for nearly 100 days and @realDonaldTrump NEVER had a license. Not to mention the numerous uses prior to November 30, 2022.”

The estate is the first to go to court over complaints against Trump and his campaign, who allegedly used music for which they did not have a proper license, but other artists have also complained.

Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Céline Dion, Prince’s estate and the Foo Fighters have publicly complained and/or distanced themselves from Trump’s use of their music.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister contributed to this report