Judge orders copyright trial over opening notes of Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press




LOS ANGELES – A trial is needed to determine if Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" copies its opening notes from a song performed by the rock band Spirit, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled Friday that lawyers for the trustee of late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe had shown enough evidence to support a case that "Stairway to Heaven" copies music from the Spirit song "Taurus."

"Taurus" was written by Wolfe in either 1966 or 1967, years before Led Zeppelin released "Stairway to Heaven" in 1971. Klausner wrote that while the songs have some differences, lawyers for Wolfe's trustee may be able to prove they are substantially similar.

Led Zeppelin and Spirit performed at some concerts and festivals around the same time, but not on the same stage. Klausner wrote that the evidence presented so far represented a circumstantial case that Led Zeppelin may have heard "Taurus" performed before "Stairway to Heaven" was created.

After-hours phone and email messages sent to Helene M. Freeman, Led Zeppelin's attorney, were not immediately returned. Experts hired by the band contend both "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taurus" use notes that have been used in music for centuries.

Francis Alexander Malofiy, attorney for Wolfe's trustee Michael Skidmore, praised the ruling. He said while many copyright cases are an uphill battle, Klausner's ruling brings his client one step closer to getting Wolfe credit for helping create one of the most recognizable song introductions in rock history.

Skidmore was able to overcome statute-of-limitations hurdles to sue over "Stairway to Heaven" because the song was remastered and re-released in 2014.

A jury trial is scheduled for May 10 in Los Angeles. Klausner's ruling removed Zeppelin band member John Paul Jones from the case. Bandmates Robert Plant and Jimmy Page remain defendants in the case.

A trial would represent the third time in recent months that a Los Angeles federal jury has heard a copyright-infringement case involving a hit song. In March 2015, a jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied a Marvin Gaye song to create their 2013 hit, "Blurred Lines" and awarded Gaye's children $7.4 million. A judge trimmed the award, and the verdict is under appeal.

Later in the year, another jury was empaneled to determine whether the Jay-Z hit "Big Pimpin'" copied the work of an Egyptian composer, but a judge ruled in the rapper's favor before deliberations began.

[fricnjay]

Lets face it, there are overlaps and similarities between many songs. Every artist out there is influenced by their peers. The similarities are so minute it isn't worth bothering with. The only ones getting rich are the lawyers. Shame on Spirit.

[Hikari Kisugi]

If the first writer didn't have an issue with it for FOURTY FIVE years, then perhaps his trustee should be shot in the fucking head for having issues.

[Muddy]

Led Zeppelin has ripped off many artists..

[PorkChopSandwiches]

[Muddy]

Here's 7 more...

http://www.musictimes.com/articles/6...elin-stole.htm

[deebakes]

[DemonGeminiX]

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press




LOS ANGELES – The opening to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven," one of rock 'n' roll's best-known ballads, was played for jurors Tuesday in a case brought by the estate of a dead musician that claims it was stolen by the men credited with creating it.

A lawyer for the estate trustee of the late Randy Wolfe, also known as Randy California, claimed the British rockers lifted the passage from the instrumental tune "Taurus," recorded by his band Spirit, and infringed on the songwriter's copyright.

"This was a song that Randy California had written for the love of his life, Robin. That was her sign, Taurus," said attorney Francis Malofiy. "Little did anyone know it would fall into the hands of Jimmy Page and become the intro to 'Stairway to Heaven.'"

An attorney for guitarist Page and singer Robert Plant told the eight-person jury during opening statements in Los Angeles federal court that the chord progression in Wolfe's song is common and found in songs dating to the 1600s and that other similarities also exist.

"Do re mi appears in both songs," said attorney Peter Anderson, who also claims Wolfe's estate doesn't own the copyright to "Taurus."

Page and Plant, both with their long hair pulled back and dressed in dark gray suits and white shirts, listened quietly as the first two minutes of the song was played for the jury. Their attorney then played a piano interpretation of "Taurus" that had only a vague similarity.

Malofiy showed videos of guitar interpretations of both songs, which sounded more alike. When played simultaneously, similarities and differences could be seen and heard.

Malofiy said Wolfe's work formed the basis for the riff that made the song a hit that is still widely played.

"When you hear those first iconic notes of 'Stairway to Heaven,' it's instantly recognizable," Malofiy said.

Joe Bennett, a forensic musicologist at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, said both pieces are based on a descending chromatic chord sequence in A minor that was used decades earlier for the song "My Funny Valentine" and in other well-known pieces.

"It's a well-used musical device. We can say with certainty that that chord sequence is not original," he said. "It wasn't written originally in 1968" when "Taurus" was released.

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled in April that evidence presented in hearings made a credible case that Led Zeppelin may have heard "Taurus" performed before their song was created.

Wolfe, who drowned in 1997 saving his son in Hawaii, wrote "Taurus" either 1966 or 1967. "Stairway to Heaven" came out in 1971.

Led Zeppelin opened for Spirit in their debut U.S. show in December 1968 in Denver, Malofiy said.

Page and Plant didn't hear the song for decades, though Led Zeppelin had incorporated a bass riff from one of Spirit's songs, "Fresh Garbage," in a medley, Anderson said.

Malofiy, attorney for Wolfe's trustee Michael Skidmore, said he would focus on inconsistencies in Page's deposition, in which he initially said he didn't know of Spirit and later admitted admiring their music and owning some of the band's albums.

"Stairway to Heaven" has generated hundreds of millions of dollars over the years. Malofiy said the estate was able to sue after a 2014 change in the law allowed suing for continued copyright infringement.

Page, Plant and bandmate John Paul Jones are all expected to testify at the trial, though Jones has been dismissed as a defendant in the case.

The trial follows a high-profile victory last year when a federal jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied a Marvin Gaye song to create their 2013 hit, "Blurred Lines" and awarded Gaye's children $7.4 million.

A judge trimmed the award, and the verdict is under appeal, but the decision appears to have prompted a surge in copyright-infringement filings.

The same attorney who represented Gaye's family filed another suit last week in Los Angeles saying Ed Sheeran's 2014 song "Photograph" is too similar to the 2009 song "Amazing" written by Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard.

[Goofy]

Whole lotta shite

[FBD]

the motherfucker's dead, I dont see how his estate has any basis to sue so long after the fact. its his ESTATE, ffs!!! this is all kinds of stupid.

almost approaching the level of stupidity we saw with men at work and the kookaburra. but at least that was "current events" in relative comparison....zepplin is so long gone, and this dude they ripped off is long gone, so fuck these lawyers.

[DemonGeminiX]

Breaking news from Reuters: Jury sides with Led Zeppelin in copyright infringement trial over 'Stairway to Heaven'.

They just announced it on Fox Business Channel too. No copyright infringement.


No article yet.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

All I know is Vanilla Ice did not rip of Queen

[DemonGeminiX]

[fricnjay]

By BRIAN MELLEY

Associated Press

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LOS ANGELES

Led Zeppelin did not steal a riff from an obscure 1960s instrumental tune to use for the introduction of its classic rock anthem “Stairway to Heaven,” a federal court jury decided Thursday.

The verdict in Los Angeles settles a point that music fans have debated for decades but didn’t find its way to court until two years ago, when the trustee for the late Randy Craig Wolfe filed a copyright lawsuit.

The trust claimed that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page lifted a passage that Wolfe, better known as Randy California, wrote for “Taurus,” a short work he recorded with his band Spirit in 1968.

Page and singer Robert Plant showed little emotion as the verdict was read then hugged their lawyers.

Jurors found the trust had cleared a few hurdles, including that Page and Plant had “access” to “Taurus,” meaning they would have been familiar with it.

Trust attorney Francis Malofiy said he was sad and disappointed by the jury’s decision.

“The reality is that we proved access, but they could never hear what they had access to,” Malofiy said. “It’s bizarre.”

In trying to show the works were substantially similar, the trust had the tricky task of relying on sheet music because that’s what is filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Jurors were not played the “Taurus” recording, which contains a section that sounds very similar to the instantly recognizable start of “Stairway.” Instead, they were played guitar and piano renditions by musicians on both sides of the case. Not surprisingly, the plaintiff’s version on guitar sounded more like “Stairway” than the defense version on piano.

Page and Plant, who wrote the “Stairway” lyrics, said their creation was an original. In several hours of often-animated and amusing testimony, they described the craft behind one of rock’s best-known songs, all the while denying knowledge of one of the genre’s least-known tunes.

Plant cracked up the courtroom when said he didn’t remember most people he had hung out with over the years.

In closing arguments, Malofiy criticized Page and Plant’s “selective” memories and “convenient” truths on the witness stand.

Experts for both sides dissected both compositions, agreeing mainly that they shared a descending chord progression that dates back three centuries as a building block in lots of songs.

The trust’s experts, however, went further and noted several other similarities that made the two works unlike the many other tunes they were compared to, including “My Funny Valentine,” and The Beatles’ “Michelle.”

Led Zeppelin’s lawyer said the trust didn’t own the copyright and that the plaintiff failed to prove a case that should have been brought more than 40 years ago when Wolfe was alive and Page and singer Robert Plant would have had better memories.

“How can you wait a half century and criticize people … 45 years later for the delay you caused?” Peter Anderson said. “They should have sued in 1972.”

Wolfe, who drowned in 1997 saving his son at a beach in Hawaii, had spoken with lawyers over the years about suing, but they never took on the case because it was old, said Glen Kulik another lawyer for the trust. A Supreme Court ruling in 2014 over the movie “Raging Bull” opened the door to bring a copyright case at any time with damages only dating back three years and continuing into the future.

Malofiy asked jurors to give Wolfe a songwriting credit and millions of dollars in damages, though he didn’t provide a specific figure. The defense said record label profits from the past five years were $868,000, but Anderson reminded jurors that only a fraction of the eight-minute song was being challenged.

The trial took jurors and lucky observers who managed to pack into the courtroom on a musical journey through the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Spirit, a California psychedelic group that blended jazz and rock was achieving stardom as the hard-rocking British band was being founded.

Stops on the tour of testimony included Spirit shows at “love-ins” during the “Summer of Love,” Led Zeppelin’s U.S. debut as an opening act for Spirit and Vanilla Fudge in Denver in December 1968 and, finally, to a country house in the south of England where Page, Plant and bassist John Paul Jones described how “Stairway” was born.

Page said his ambition was to write a song that would accelerate to a crescendo and he first shared the opening with keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones to get an ally in his scheme.

Singer Robert Plant said he was sitting by the fire at Headley Grange in the spring of 1970, when Page played the intro on acoustic guitar and he offered the start of a couplet he had been working on: “There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold/and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.”

Jurors never heard a note from Page or Plant live, but they were treated to lo-fi vintage recordings of the band creating the song, renditions on guitar and piano by other musicians and, finally, the full recording of one of rock’s most enduring anthems.

Page, 72, bobbed his head and moved to the tune while Plant, 67, sat still. Both men wore sharp suits, white shirts and ties throughout the trial and had their hair pulled back in neat ponytails.

They didn’t chat with anyone in the gallery, including several fans, and were escorted by personal bodyguards to the restroom and in and out of the federal courthouse each day. One afternoon, a group of women clapped and Page flashed a smile as the rock stars were hustled across the courthouse corridor to a private hallway.

The case is not the first time Led Zeppelin was accused of swiping another artist’s work. The lawsuit listed at least six other songs in which the band reached settlements over songwriting credits for works including “Whole Lotta Love,” ‘'The Lemon Song,” and “Dazed and Confused.”