Dr Dre Has Taken Legal Action Against A US Politician For Using His Music Without Permission

Dr Dre, real name Andre Young, has fired at US representative for the Georgia district, Marjorie Taylor Greene, after she used his hit song, Still D.R.E., in a promotional video.

She captioned the clip, “They can't stop what's coming”.

In a statement issued to TMZ, Dr Dre said, “I don't license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one.”

Within hours, Greene’s video was removed from Twitter and replaced with the message: "This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner".

In a stunning cease and desist letter, his lawyers wrote to Greene: “We write you on behalf of our client, Andre Young p/k/a Dr Dre, composer and performer of the hit song Still D.R.E. You are wrongfully exploiting this work through the various social media outlets to promote your divisive and hateful political agenda.

“Andre Young is the owner of the copyright in Still D.R.E., with the exclusive right to exploit same.”

His representation added, “Mr Young has not, and will never, grant you permission to broadcast or disseminate any of his music. The use of Still D.R.E. without permission constitutes copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. $ 501.

“One might expect that, as a member of Congress, you would have a passing familiarity with the laws of our country. It's possible, though, that laws governing intellectual property are a little too arcane and insufficiently populist for you to really have spent much time on. We're writing because we think an actual lawmaker should be making laws not breaking laws, especially those embodied in the constitution by the founding fathers.”

The open letter also states that “you can't use someone else's song for your political campaign promotions unless you get permission from the owner of the copyright in the song, a step you failed to take.” Read the rest of the letter below.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has been locked out of her Twitter account and her new video has been removed after Dr. Dre took legal action against her for using his music without permission.

His letter is amazing. pic.twitter.com/Vk12JSRByK

— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) January 9, 2023

Greene responded via TMZ: “While I appreciate the creative chord progression, I would never play your words of violence against women and police officers, and your glorification of the thug life and drugs.”

As BBC notes, Greene’s social media presence often supports outlandish suggestions made by QAnon supporters. According to BBC, Greene has posted that a “2018 high school shooting was staged, and that a wildfire in California was ignited by a laser beam shot from space by a prominent Jewish family, the Rothschilds, who are the subject of many antisemitic conspiracy theories.”