Earlier this week, we learned that Donald Trump is publishing a book about his favorite topic: himself. Letters to Trump “captures the incredible, and oftentimes private correspondence, between President Donald J. Trump and some of the biggest names in history throughout the past 40 years,” including former The Tonight Show host Jay Leno. The thing is, Trump apparently never got permission to publish Leno’s letter, which — have you heard about this? — could get him into legal hot water. That’s so unlike Trump.
“Jay did not release, nor authorize any use of any letter to Mr. Trump,” a representative from Leno’s production company, Big Dog Productions, told Newsweek. The rep isn’t even sure which letter will be in the book. Maybe it’s about trucks, or as Leno likes to call them, big cars.
Trump also never cleared his letters to/from Hillary Clinton, because “of course he didn’t,” her spokesperson Nick Merrill said. “Nothing says deeply-insecure-has-been quite like publishing private correspondence with the hope that people will believe you once garnered respect,” he told Newsweek. “Feels like the adult equivalent of when a toddler proudly presents you with what they’ve done on the potty.” Here’s more:
He may face potential lawsuits in doing so. It is unclear whether Trump has the legal right to publish the letters without the sender’s permission… The principle that the writers of the letters, not the recipients, retain the copyright has been “well-established in copyright law” for hundreds of years according to Jane C. Ginsburg, professor of literary and artistic property Law at Columbia University School of Law in New York.
Sadly, Trump’s note to Joe Biden that he left at the White House, which is probably about the dearly departed Diet Coke button or the best toilet for definitely not flushing documents, didn’t make the cut.
(Via Newsweek)