Court Rules Plant, Page Must Face "Stairway to Heaven" Jury Trial/ Decision*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by segue, Apr 11, 2016.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    Led Zeppelin's lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page must face a U.S. jury trial over whether they stole opening chords for their 1971 classic "Stairway to Heaven."

    In a decision on Friday, U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner in Los Angeles said "Stairway" and the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by the band Spirit were similar enough to let a jury decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.

    A trial is scheduled for May 10.

    The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, also known as Randy California, who was Spirit's guitarist and the composer of "Taurus."

    Skidmore said Page may have been inspired to write "Stairway" for Led Zeppelin after hearing Spirit perform "Taurus" while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never got credit.
    The defendants said Wolfe was a songwriter-for-hire who had no copyright claim, and that the chord progressions were so clichéd that they did not deserve copyright protection.

    But the judge said a jury could find "substantial" similarity between the first two minutes of "Stairway" and "Taurus," which he called "arguably the most recognizable and important segments" of the songs.

    "While it is true that a descending chromatic four-chord progression is a common convention that abounds in the music industry, the similarities here transcend this core structure," Klausner wrote. "What remains is a subjective assessment of the 'concept and feel' of two works ... a task no more suitable for a judge than for a jury."

    Klausner dismissed claims against Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Warner Music Group Corp.
    He also said the trustee can get only 50 percent of any damages awarded, citing a 1967 contract that Wolfe signed.

    "This case, from our perspective, has always been about giving credit where credit was due, and now we get to right that wrong," Francis Malofiy, a lawyer for Skidmore, said by phone.

    A lawyer for the defendants did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment.
    According to the complaint, Wolfe complained about the similarities of the songs in an interview shortly before he drowned in 1997 in the Pacific Ocean while attempting to rescue his son.

    "Stairway to Heaven" is a track on Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth studio album, often referred to as "Led Zeppelin IV."

    The case is Skidmore v Led Zeppelin et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 15-03462.


    (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Alan Crosby)

    Led Zeppelin's Plant, Page to face 'Stairway to Heaven' trial »
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2016
    Jimmy B. likes this.
  2. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    Uhh, what did I miss here?! Are the defendants, i.e. Plant and Page, claiming they hired California's services as a songwriter? Or is it a misunderstanding by the reporter?
     
  3. ukrules

    ukrules Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kentucky
    Seriously? Sounds like someone ran out of money and is using this to pay their bills. I say TOO LATE!
     
  4. Louis Kirsch

    Louis Kirsch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rolesville, NC
    Total BS
     
    bluesky, limoges, Paulo Alm and 8 others like this.
  5. If I stole something from you 40-some years ago worth potentially millions of dollars would you be so quick to dismiss bringing charges against me? Not saying Zep are guilty but it will be good to see this finally get legal closure.
     
    ARK, CrewU, Koopers and 3 others like this.
  6. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Page is a sponge. He just doesn't remember where he was "inspired". Muddy who?
     
    John Bliss, bluesky, ARK and 15 others like this.
  7. DrAftershave

    DrAftershave A Wizard, A True Star

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Well, nobody can personally blame Randy so who knows.
     
    wayneklein likes this.
  8. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    Oh, great. Now, no matter what a jury decides, "Stairway" will forever be painted in the public eye as a rip-off.
     
    realkilroy, The Trinity and DrBeatle like this.
  9. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    What happened to not being able to sue over a chord progression? May as well have everyone sue everyone and tie up the courts for 100 years if thats the case.
     
  10. Mickey2

    Mickey2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bronx, NY, USA
    Poetic justice
     
  11. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Who cares anyway. One song is an all time classic of absolute epic proportions, the other no one has ever heard of.
     
    ceynon, thgord, Dale A B and 4 others like this.
  12. smoke

    smoke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    It's hysterical. Zeppelin stole so much stuff but this one doesn't hold much water for me. I suppose they deserve it anyway, for all the other things they could have given proper credit for.
     
  13. smoke

    smoke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    This guy could surely have used the money, to give one small non-blues example:

     
  14. vinylkid58

    vinylkid58 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Victoria, B.C.
    Exactly!
     
    Dennis Metz and Long Live Analog like this.
  15. John Rhett Thomas

    John Rhett Thomas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Macon, GA, USA
    Almost certainly the latter. Reporters no more know how to report on this stuff than judges or juries know how to rule on it. This is a farce.
     
    JoeF., markbrow and Fullbug like this.
  16. Zeki

    Zeki Forum Resident

    I don't see it as being a rip-off, but what does that mean about "songwriter for hire"? I doubt Page-Plant are suggesting they paid California for the song so it was okay to slap their names on it. And if he supposedly wrote it for someone else, they wouldn't have a right to it either. But the whole point... I think (!) is that they wrote the song independently. So why introduce "songwriter for hire" into the equation?
     
    ARK and hazard like this.
  17. John Rhett Thomas

    John Rhett Thomas Forum Resident

    Location:
    Macon, GA, USA
    Even if you believe "they deserve it", the law doesn't deserve to be tarnished in the service of such a moronic suit. We will all be the worse for it if this prevails. The schadenfreude for the Zep-haters won't be worth it.
     
  18. dead of night

    dead of night Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Va, usa
    You'll care when we all, and I mean everybody, has to give our Led Zeppelin CDs back. It is stolen property and we have no right to listen to it.
     
  19. smoke

    smoke Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    You're right and I'm no Zep hater - I just find it hard to work up much sympathy.
     
  20. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    I think it means their lawyer is saying Randy California has no legitimate claim to the Taurus copyright to begin with.
     
  21. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    So what is the signifiance of "songwriter-for-hire" (which California was not)?
     
    rockinlazys and tdavis0903 like this.
  22. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    About time! I'm throwing out my CDs. :winkgrin:
     
    starduster and Larry Loves LPs like this.
  23. dead of night

    dead of night Senior Member

    Location:
    Northern Va, usa
    I hear Page and Plant are hiring a "dream team." If the chords don't fit, you must acquit.
     
    bluesky, ARK, videoman and 21 others like this.
  24. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    .

    All Los Angeles residents must stop reading this thread immediately to avoid possible contamination of the jury pool


    .



    .
     
    bluesky, ARK, havenz and 16 others like this.
  25. RickH

    RickH Connoisseur of deep album cuts

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    I'm a casual Zep fan but just gave "Taurus" a listen on Spotify...starting at the 44-second mark, the similarity is definitely there. Why isn't there a statute of limitations on this sort of thing?
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine