In 2014, a Bloomberg Businessweek article highlighted Led Zeppelin`s various lawsuit settlements over “borrowing” songs from other songwriters. Many of them received financial reparations, royalties and writing credits. An anonymous netizen reminds me: “If Robert Plant had ice on his chin, he is even more of a man than you.” Well, that`s the rock `n roll spirit (and I`m not talking about whiskey). LIMBONG: The court ruled today that although the two bands played together before Led Zeppelin recorded “Stairway To Heaven,” there wasn`t enough evidence that either pillar — similarity or access — could apply. But this access argument helped win previous high-profile copyright lawsuits against artists like Robin Thicke and Katy Perry. McBrearty says it might make some people think twice before suing big stars. As for the Zeppelin case, lawyer Francis Malofiy says he will appeal. LIMBONG: Wolfe`s estate felt a resemblance and filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in 2014 seeking co-writing credits and royalties. The case was taken to court two years later by a jury that was not allowed to do what we were doing – listen to the songs – because “Taurus” was written before the recordings covered federal copyright. All that has been challenged in court are notes. The 2016 lawsuit landed in favor of Led Zeppelin. There was a call, which today also landed in favor of Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin: Wins the final copyright battle in the battle for `Stairway to Heaven` Skidmore`s desire to play both recordings is also linked to his attempts to prove that Zeppelin had access to `Taurus`.

Proof of access has long been essential in proving that two works are “substantially similar,” but in its new decision, the Ninth Circuit overturned a longstanding precedent in this area known as the “inverse relationship rule.” (The inverse ratio rule states that if a party can demonstrate a high degree of access to a particular work, the less significant the similarities must be to prove infringement.) In 1977, Randy publicly claimed that Led Zeppelin had “ripped off” his instrumental Taurus and earned millions. But he didn`t take a legal route because he was too broke and felt like the statute of limitations was long gone. While Klausner pointed out the various shortcomings of the inverse ratio rule over the years, he noticed its particular turbidity in the digital age, where access is seemingly infinite. “To the extent that `access` still makes sense, the inverse relationship rule unfairly favors those whose work is most accessible by lowering the standard of proof of similarity,” Klausner wrote. “But the copyright finding suggests that a work deserves stronger legal protection simply because it is more popular or owned by better-funded rights holders.” During the trial, the musicologists pleaded on behalf of Led Zeppelin. They claimed that the progression of chords and the descending pattern in both songs were common musical means for the time. The two groups performed together at several music festivals in 1969. In Mick Wall`s biography on Led Zeppelin, he proclaims that Jimmy Page`s use of a theremin was inspired by Randy California himself. He added: “There are zillions and zillions of songs that carried the same chord progression, so it was very unfortunate and it was uncomfortable for everyone.” The song begins with acoustic arpeggios and chord progression that resembles a song called Taurus. The band was legally challenged three times on the classic track One aspect of the first case that the Court of Appeal upheld was the District Court`s decision to reject Skidmore`s request to play the sound recordings of “Taurus” and “Stairway to Heaven” for the jury. Both songs are protected by the Copyright Act of 1909, which applies only to sheet music, while the Copyright Act of 1976 includes sound recordings. LIMBONG: The late guitarist Randy Wolfe, whose stage name was Randy California, wrote the song before Led Zeppelin sang their song.

In case you haven`t heard it yet, here`s “Stairway To Heaven.” The verdict went in favor of Led Zeppelin in 2016, but it didn`t stop there. Two years later, a panel of three judges in the Ninth District unanimously overturned the verdict for “erroneous jury order.” Guitarist Jimmy Page testified that he didn`t know about Spirit`s song until people started posting comparisons online in the early 2010s. “I knew I had never heard this before,” he said. “It was completely foreign to me.” The copyright dispute was originally filed by journalist Michael Skidmore in 2014 on behalf of the estate of Randy Wolfe, the late Spirit singer. Stairway To Heaven regularly appears on lists of the greatest rock songs ever written, and the case has been one of the most watched disputes in the music industry. Was the intro to the most epic rock `n roll song taken note by note from Spirit`s song? MCBREARTY: And the inverse relationship rule is the idea that in an infringement case, although you have to prove both – both similarity and access – we could lower the threshold for one of them if we have a lot of the other. The jury, which concluded that the two songs were “not similar in themselves,” was not allowed to hear Taurus during the trial. This and other allegations gave rise to an appeal. Randy California has had a glorious career and a large number of followers for his guitar work with wit and beyond. Tragically, he died prematurely in 1997. Meanwhile, Led Zeppelin officially joined TikTok last month, with the band`s full discography made available to users to define their contributions to the music. The new account promises Led Zeppelin-themed artwork, graphics, archival live performances and more.

While the Ninth District has used the inverse ratio rule in the past, other courts of appeal have rejected it, and in his decision, Justice R. Gary Klausner said that because the inverse ratio rule “contradicts logic and creates uncertainty for the courts and parties, we take this opportunity to repeal the rule in the Ninth District and overturn our previous cases instead.” Klausner added that the application of the rule in the Ninth District had been inconsistent, referring in particular to the “Blurred Lines” case, in which it was first presented as a “binding precedent” before all references were subsequently removed from an amended statement. Jimmy Page denied remembering meeting the band members in Birmingham. He said he hadn`t heard the song until 2010, when comparison videos appeared all over the internet. Although the court was not persuaded by Page`s testimony, they saw in the statements of meritorious musicologists. The similarity, coupled with Zep`s association with Spirit in the late `60s and early `70s, sparked burning dramas, accusations, and endless flame wars on forums. I`ve delved deeper into the history and origins of the copyright dispute, and in this article we`re going to get into what makes it so rich and fascinating. An attempt to reach a lawyer for Led Zeppelin was sent back to Warner Music Group, which declined Rolling Stone`s request for comment. Drama `Blurred Lines`: The Court of Appeal sides with the Marvin Gaye family BRIAN MCBREARTY: When we try to determine if the copy took place, we look at two pillars of copyright infringement. One of the pillars is similarity. According to Variety and Bloomberg Law, the judges rejected a motion to revive the copyright lawsuit, alleging that the band stole their 1971 rock epic from a lesser-known 1967 track called “Taurus” by the band Spirit.

The court did not explain why it refused to take over the case. The two virtuosos separated when Hendrix flew to London with Chas Chandler, the bassist of The Animals, who would later become his manager. LIMBONG: It`s forensic musicologist Brian McBrearty. He says the next pillar is access. Do we believe that an alleged infringer heard song A before writing song B? The two pillars, taken together, are known as the inverse ratio rule. The verdict concludes a convoluted and complex legal battle that began in 2014 when Michael Skidmore — a trustee representing the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe — accused Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of stealing the opening guitar riff of “Taurus` “Stairway to Heaven.” Zeppelin won the case in 2016, but in September 2018, a panel of three Ninth District judges ruled that the original trial involved “erroneous jury instructions” and ordered a new trial. More: The court agreed to hear Led Zeppelin in the `Stairway` vocation Led Zeppelin was their first part of their 1968 American tour. Led Zeppelin even covered one of Spirit`s songs in front of a crowded Denver auditorium. In 2014, Mark Andes and a trust acting on behalf of Randy California filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Led Zeppelin in order to obtain written credit for Stairway to Heaven.

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