Composer Sues Gingrich for Using 'Eye of the Tiger' Anthem During Campaign

(NewsCore) - CHICAGO -- The man who composed Survivor's hit song "Eye of the Tiger" filed a lawsuit against former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Chicago on Monday in a bid to stop the Republican presidential candidate from using it at campaign events without his permission.

Rude Music Inc., owned by Frank Sullivan who composed and copyrighted the song in 1982, lodged the suit in federal court in Chicago, seeking an injunction against Gingrich, The Chicago Tribune reported.

The suit lists a series of events where Gingrich has used the song made famous by its use in Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky III" to mark his entrance, including appearances at the Conservative Political Action Conference over the past three years and numerous events in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses.

The suit also claims that the song has been used in a number of internet videos featuring Gingrich that were posted online by the American Conservative Union, who is named as a co-defendant in the suit.

Lawyers representing Rude noted in the suit that Gingrich should be well aware of copyright law, given he is listed as the author or co-author of dozens of published works and has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from Gingrich Productions, a company that sells his published works.

As well as seeking an injunction stopping Gingrich from using the song, the suit also asks for unspecified damages and lawyers' fees.

It is certainly not the first time that an artist has attempted to stop presidential candidates from using their music, FOXNews.com reported.

The Foo Fighters and John Mellencamp asked John McCain to stop playing their hits during his presidential run in 2008, and McCain later settled out of court with Jackson Browne after the singer-songwriter sued McCain and the Ohio and national Republican committees -- accusing them of using his song "Running on Empty" without his permission.

John Hall, the lead singer of Orleans, was not happy when George W. Bush played "Still the One" at an event in 2004. The former president also was rebuffed by Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and Sting during his presidential runs for making use of their tracks. And way back in 1984, Bruce Springsteen was unhappy when Ronald Reagan used his hit "Born in the USA."

On the other hand, Bill Clinton used Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" in his successful 1992 presidential bid, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) played Springsteen's "No Surrender" in his 2004 campaign, in 2008 Barack Obama revived Springsteen's "The Rising" and that same year fellow Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) used Mellencamp's "Our Country." All of these came and went without objection from the artists.

Gingrich's rival Mitt Romney, however, bucked the trend during the current campaign and asked Kid Rock for permission to use his hit "Born Free" at campaign events. He was given the OK and the song has become his go-to theme.