Led Zep lawyers want $800k for defending “Stairway to Heaven” lawsuit
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/led-zep-lawyers-want-800k-for-defending-stairway-to-heaven-lawsuit/Jul 9, 2016 12:00pm CDT
Just weeks ago, Led Zeppelin defeated a Los Angeles federal copyright infringement lawsuit claiming the opening to the 1971 classic "Stairway to Heaven" was a rip-off of the 1968 instrumental song "Taurus." The suit was brought in 2014 by the estate of Randy Wolfe, who wrote the song for his band Spirit. Wolfe (aka Randy California) died in 1997.
Now nearly three weeks after the verdict, Zeppelin's lawyers are seeking almost $800,000 in costs and legal fees for their troubles. In American law, it's usually up to each side of a lawsuit to pay their own legal fees and court costs. But that's not always true when it comes to copyright law. And the Supreme Court on June 16 provided nuanced guidance to lower courts in determining whether the prevailing party in a copyright lawsuit should be awarded attorney fees. That ruling is likely to make it easier for winners in copyright cases to collect fees from the losing side.
In the "Stairway to Heaven" case, the lawyers said (PDF) in court documents that the suit should not have been brought in the first place. Zeppelin's lawyers claim the suit amounted to "nearly half-century-old claims that neither Randy Wolfe nor the owner of the allegedly-infringed copyright ever bothered to assert." Zep's attorney, Peter Anderson, added that the Wolfe trust "tried to tar 'Stairway to Heaven' and its authors, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant."
What's more, Anderson said he and the other defense attorneys "successfully defended plaintiff’s attempt to wipe 'Stairway to Heaven' off the map, and, in doing so, defendants furthered the important copyright purpose of enriching the general public through access to creative works."
A hearing is set for August 8 before US District Judge R. Gary Klausner.
Before the verdict was reached, tens of millions of dollars were at stake. The suit claimed Zep's opening to "Stairway to Heaven"—an acoustic guitar arpeggiating chords in a descending pattern—contained similar sounds to "Taurus." Zeppelin toured with Spirit in 1968, and the lawsuit alleged that Zep guitarist/songwriter Jimmy Page had heard "Taurus" before the debut of "Stairway to Heaven," which appeared on Led Zeppelin IV in 1971.
During the nearly two-week trial, Page testified that he wasn't sure there were any similarities between the two songs. "I may have said the chord sequences are very similar because that chord sequence has been around forever," Page said. For his part, Plant testified that he could not remember encountering the band Spirit.
The trust's attorney, Francis Malofiy, told the jury that Page and Plant were liable for "copying" the song "Taurus."
"Creation does not mean copying," he said, adding that "creation means doing something that is unique and memorable."
In case you're wondering, Zep's lawyers are billing for the roughly 1,800 hours they spent defending the case since 2014. Anderson, the lead counsel, was billing for $330 an hour, which he pointed out in the filing was "actually below" the going rate. Combined they are seeking $180,000 in costs, (PDF) mostly for expert fees, and $613,000 in lawyer fees.
Here are the two disputed songs. <see the above URL>
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