(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY KEVIN DONNELLAN ANDMALLORY PERRYMAN

ANCHOR LAUREN GORES

An 80s rock band is turning down the volume on Newt Gingrich’s pump-up campaign tune.
 

Gingrich has been using ‘Rocky’ theme ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by the band ‘Survivor’ when he comes on stage for campaign appearances.

Now Houston’s KRIV reports-- the band is suing Gingrich for copyright infringement.

“A federal lawsuit filed Monday claims Gingrich has used the song since 2009 without permission from its authors. The suit asks for Gingrich to stop using the song and pay damages and attorneys fees.”

Frankie Sullivan, co-writer of the song, has been keen to stress this isn’t about politics. He’s quoted in the LA Times saying--
 

“ … it is strictly an artist protecting their copyright."

But The Washington Post adds-- it’s not about the moolah either.
 

“What’s at stake here? Probably pride more than money. Survivor rakes in thousands by licensing the song for movies or ads. But simply playing oldies to pump up a crowd only costs a host a few pennies per attendee if they’ve got a proper license from the music publisher...”

This isn’t the first time a musical artist has taken issue with a campaign-trail tune. NBC explains, the issue came up recently when Michelle Bachmann used Tom Petty’s song ‘American Girl.’ Petty asked the campaign to stop using it.  
 

“They also asked George W. Bush not to use any of his music but Hillary Clinton did use ‘American Girl.’”

So does Gingrich have to stop blasting his beat? The New York Times reports-- use of a song for public appearances falls into a legal gray area. The Times notes-- several cases where candidates used songs in their TV ads have been settled out of court-- but when it comes to political rallies...
 

“The courts still have not provided firm guidance on whether or not playing a song at a political gathering might amount to copyright infringement.”

So far-- the Gingrich campaign hasn’t responded to the suit.