Taylor Hicks on Lawsuit Patrol

You can be proud of Taylor Hicks. You just can't unlawfully profit by him.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a producer who was selling songs on Apple's iTunes Music Store that the American Idol winner recorded when he was singin' for his supper in Alabama bars, pre-Soul Patrol.

Hicks sued William Smith and his production company for more than $75,000 in compensatory and punitive damages this week, all stemming from an email the singer's lawyer received July 24 from the Nashville-based producer stating that he planned to release a song on iTunes that Hicks had laid down in 1997 called "The Fall," according to court documents obtained by the Smoking Gun Website.

According to the lawsuit, Hicks' camp obtained a temporary restraining order barring Smith from making "The Fall" and two other tunes--"Son of a Carpenter" and "In Your Time"--available for downloading. The defendant agreed to take the songs down Aug. 16, but, per the suit, he again contacted Hicks, notifying the singer yet again of his intent to sell "The Fall."

Hicks stated in his complaint that Smith has no ownership rights to any of the songs in question, and he is maintaining that Smith is in violation of the agreement the two arrived at after the songs unlawfully hit iTunes the first time around. The defendant has been "unjustly enriched" by Hicks' music, his lawsuit states.

Michael J. Douglas, Hicks' lawyer, said in a sworn statement that the recordings were of poor quality and distributing them could damage his client's reputation and cause him "immense irreparable financial harm," per the Associated Press.

The tracks are currently nowhere to be found on iTunes.

Smith told the Smoking Gun that, back in 2001 (when he says the songs were recorded), he had tried shopping the tunes to 15 different labels, but that none were interested. In his email to Douglas regarding "The Fall," he said:

"As per our contract with Mr. Hicks, I have the legal right to use these recordings for a period of seven years to further his musical careerÂ?I am not going to radio, I am going to iTunes. This is the best way to make this single a #1 hit. Let your client know he will have another #1 record within thirty days. And he wrote it. He will do very well and offset some of the horrible press regarding the tour and his current single.

"If Taylor does not go negative (I know he can't control his label) I am referring to Taylor personally, then anything in his past that would reflect negatively upon him will stay there. In the past. I have no desire to harm himÂ?only help him and myself."

Smith told the Smoking Gun that his letter, despite that whole last part there, was not a blackmail attempt. The producer also said that he has already turned down five-figure tabloid deals to speak out about Hicks' sexual past and what he referred to as the "Do I Make You Proud" singer's prior drug use.

"Taylor was a young musician, so you can imagine what he was involved in," Smith said.

And who he was involved with.

"It aggravated me because I knew what a gifted performer and writer he is," Smith told AP. "I love Taylor Hicks and for three months I was refuting the bad press he was getting."

If he's referring to any less-than-positive reviews of Hicks' first single and of the 2006 American Idols Live tour, including Justin Timberlake's, Smith doesn't need to feel too sorry for this year's Idol champ. "Do I Make You Proud" was downloaded more than 30,000 times during its first week out and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hicks inked a record deal with Arista and 19 Recordings Limited in May--his debut album is due out Nov. 14--and People magazine's Hottest Bachelor of 2006 reportedly scored a $750,000 advance when he signed up with publisher Random House to pen his memoir, Heart Full of Soul.

A hearing to determine whether to make the injunction permanent has been scheduled for next Wednesday.