Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler is demanding US President Donald Trump stop using the band's songs at rallies, like the one held at the Charleston Civic Center in West Virginia.
The band's 1993 hit Livin' on the Edge was played as Trump devotees entered the venue on Tuesday.
Tyler has sent a "cease and desist" letter through his lawyer Dina LaPolt to the White House accusing the president of willful infringement in broadcasting the song, which was written by Tyler, Joe Perry and Mark Hudson.
Citing the Lanham Act, which prohibits "any false designation or misleading description or representation of fact ... likely to cause confusion ... as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person", Tyler's lawyer contends that playing an Aerosmith song in a public arena gives the false impression that Tyler is endorsing Trump's presidency.
The matter has come up previously with another Aerosmith song, Dream On, which Trump used during his 2015 election campaign.
Following a similar letter stating, "Trump for President needs our client's express written permission in order to use his music" and that the campaign "was violating Mr Tyler's copyright", BMI drove the point home and pulled the public performance rights for the song. Public performance rights for Livin' on the Edge are administered by ASCAP.
On Sunday, Aerosmith was among the top-billed acts on the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, joining Post Malone and 21 Savage for the show's closing performance, a medley of Dream On and Toys in the Attic.
