Led Zeppelin Cleared Once Again In Copyright Lawsuit Over “Stairway To Heaven”


According to NBC News and Blabbermouth.net, the Justice Department filed a friend of court brief late Thursday supporting Led Zeppelin’s in the “Stairway To Heaven” copyright lawsuit. Last September, a federal appeals court decided unanimously to overturn a jury’s decision that ‘Stairway’ classic was not a rip-off of Spirit’s song ‘Taurus’. Michael Skidmore, the trustee of ‘Taurus’ songwriter Randy “California” Wolfe’s estate, had brought the claims more than four decades after ‘Stairway To Heaven’ appeared on Led Zeppelin’s s untitled album, better known as Led Zeppelin IV or Zoso. In its brief filed Thursday, the Justice Department said the trial judge got it right when he ruled that the only work subject to copyright protection was the sheet music because the song was written before Congress changed the law in 1972, which gave protection to sound recordings. In June 2016, a Los Angeles jury deliberated for about five hours before deciding unanimously in favor of Zeppelin.Continue reading


Led Zeppelin Court Case Over “Stairway To Heaven” Overturned, Appeal Incoming


In a report via the BBC, Led Zeppelin, who had won their court case over the claim that their most famous song ‘Stairway To Heaven’ was stolen, have now had that court decision overturned. A retrial is a certainty now. Michael Skidmore, the trustee of ‘Taurus’ songwriter Randy “California” Wolfe’s estate, had brought the claims more than four decades after “Stairway To Heaven” appeared on Zep’s untitled album, better known as “Led Zeppelin IV”.The verdict in the case came down within 15 minutes of the jury’s request to re-listen to both Spirit’s track ‘Taurus’ and ‘Stairway To Heaven’. They wanted to hear a section of each song twice, alternating from one to the other. They decided that what they heard wasn’t substantially similar enough to call it copyright infringement. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of Skidmore appealed, and on Friday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided a new trial was needed because the judge who presided over a 2016 trial had given erroneous and prejudicial instructions to the jury. The part of the song in question is the descending minor chord progression which has been used in countless songs, dating back to the blues and folk music of the early 20th century. “Stairway To Heaven’ was released on Led Zeppelin IV in 1973 and ascended into pop culture as their best-known song after their 1976 concert film The Song Remains The Same. Continue reading