Led Zeppelin Returning To Court Over ‘Stairway To Heaven’

Led Zeppelin will be returning to court for a retrial of a lawsuit that alleges the iconic rock band plagiarized “Stairway to Heaven” from a less popular song “Taurus” by band Spirit.More »

By on October 1, 2018

Led Zeppelin will be returning to court for a retrial of a lawsuit that alleges the iconic rock band plagiarized “Stairway to Heaven” from a less popular song “Taurus” by band Spirit. San Francisco’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a jury’s verdict because parts of the jury instructions were erroneous and prejudicial. In 2016, Led Zeppelin had won the copyright lawsuit that claimed they had plagiarized the music to their most celebrated song. The jury had then determined that the lawyer representing the estate of late guitarist Randy Wolfe, who played with the group Spirit, was not able to prove Zeppelin had ripped off from “Taurus.” “Taurus” was written by the late Wolfe, better known as Randy California, whose trust brought the copyright infringement lawsuit. Spirit and Led Zeppelin performed together in 1968 and 1969, while “Stairway” came out in 1971. The defendants have said Wolfe was a songwriter for hire who did not have a copyright claim, and that the opening of “Stairway” – a descending chromatic four-chord progression – is a common musical convention that did not deserve copyright protection, according to NBC News. Copyright(c) 2018 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedLess «