Overview

• U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe ruled that President Trump has no copyright interest in his recorded responses to journalist Bob Woodward’s questions.
• The court found that federal copyright law preempts all state law claims Trump brought against Woodward, Simon & Schuster and Paramount Global.
• Trump’s lawsuit, filed in January 2023, sought almost $50 million in royalties based on projected sales of 2 million audiobooks at $24.99 each.
• Woodward conducted 19 interviews with Trump between December 2019 and August 2020 for his book Rage and released The Trump Tapes audiobook in October 2022.
• A spokesman for Trump’s legal team denounced the ruling as biased and indicated plans to challenge the decision.