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General Category => Huh? => Topic started by: Fansome on June 11, 2016, 2208 UTC

Title: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Fansome on June 11, 2016, 2208 UTC: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'? A court will decide
Randy Lewis and Joel Rubin

Who really created one of the most famous riffs in all of rock ’n’ roll?

That question is at the heart of a trial scheduled to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles, where members of Led Zeppelin are expected to appear in federal court to defend their 1971 rock epic “Stairway to Heaven” against claims that they stole it from another band.

At issue is whether Zeppelin nicked “Stairway’s” famous opening passage, which evokes centuries-old Renaissance folk music, from L.A. rock band Spirit, which shared some concert billings with the iconic British band when it was in its infancy.

A loss for Led Zeppelin could mean millions of dollars in royalties going to the estate of Spirit guitarist and songwriter Randy Craig Wolfe, aka Randy California, for one of the most recognized and played recordings of the rock era.

It’s the highest profile infringement case to make it to the courtroom since last year’s suit in which R&B-soul singer Marvin Gaye’s family was awarded $7.4 million by a jury that decided pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ monster hit “Blurred Lines” had infringed on Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.”

It’s also the latest in a long line of plagiarism cases involving some of pop music’s biggest acts and most iconic songs, among them the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA,” the Beatles’ “Come Together,” George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” and even the ubiquitous “Happy Birthday to You.” Just last week, Richard Busch, the lawyer who represented Gaye’s family, filed a new infringement suit in Los Angeles against English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, saying his 2015 hit “Photograph” bears a “striking similarity” to the song “Amazing” by Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard.

The common ground between “Stairway to Heaven” and “Taurus” largely comes down to a 10-second musical theme that appears 45 seconds into “Taurus,” an instrumental from the band’s 1968 debut album, which is similar to the opening acoustic guitar pattern on “Stairway.” That song was released three years before “Stairway to Heaven” surfaced on Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album, commonly referred to as “Led Zeppelin IV.”

Zeppelin surviving members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones and their legal team are expected to argue that the similarity is nothing more than coincidence between musicians working in a field rooted in commonly used and re-used musical ideas. Or they may attempt to cite earlier precursors to both songs from the public domain, which could render moot the Wolfe estate’s copyright claim.

“It’s a tough one to call,” says singer-songwriter Richard Thompson, whose 1960s band Fairport Convention helped pioneer the merger of traditional British folk music with the amplified energy of rock ’n’ roll that Led Zeppelin took to its apotheosis in the 1970s.

“They were on the same bill together before [Zeppelin guitarist] Jimmy Page wrote ‘Stairway,’ there’s that,” Thompson said, referring to the Wolfe estate’s claiming that because the two bands played shows together in the late 1960s, and that Spirit often included “Taurus” in those shows, Zeppelin’s members at least had the opportunity to have heard the song.

“On the other hand,” Thompson said, “it’s not an uncommon riff, and the melody not that unusual.”

Guitarist Laurence Juber, who used to play with Paul McCartney’s band Wings, noted that the opening progression can be heard in a 16th century sonata for guitar, violin and strings by Italian composer Giovanni Battista Granata.

“The reality is that to have a descending bass line with an A minor chord on top of it is a common musical device.”

Francis Malofiy, the lawyer representing Wolfe’s estate, cleared a major hurdle in April when U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner allowed the case to proceed to trial, rejecting a bid by Led Zeppelin’s legal team to have the case tossed out.

In his ruling, Klausner found that Malofiy had failed to establish that “Stairway to Heaven” bears a “striking similarity” to “Taurus” – a high legal standard in copyright cases.

Klausner, however, decided there was enough substance to Malofiy’s claims that a jury should decide the case on slightly different legal grounds: whether members of Led Zeppelin had sufficient access to “Taurus” – that is, they heard the song played enough times – to conceivably rip it off, and whether the two songs meet a lesser infringement threshold of “substantial similarity.”

Led Zeppelin’s lawyers said both bands simply relied on a “centuries-old, common musical element” that is not protected by copyright law. Klausner disagreed, saying he found that “the similarities here transcend this core structure.”
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For jurors, it will not be as easy as simply listening to full recordings of the two songs. Because copyright law protects only the composition that a songwriter submits in writing to the country’s copyright office, jurors will hear a stripped-down version of “Taurus” that is likely to make parallels between the two songs less pronounced.

Page, Plant and Jones are all included as witnesses in court filings and are expected to testify before Klausner once the trial gets under way next week. Klausner, however, has since dismissed Jones as a plaintiff.

It’s a case being closely monitored in the music business because it involves not only one of the most recognizable songs in the rock repertoire, but also one of the most lucrative. In 2008, Conde Nast’s Portfolio estimated that “Stairway to Heaven” had generated $562 million in publishing royalties and record sales since its release.

“This case is way better than the Thicke-Gaye case,” said Joe Escalante, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer and an original member of long-running punk band the Vandals, saying he believes Led Zeppelin’s lawyers will likely point to other songs using a similar arpeggio.

“If they can show that what was infringed predated even the ‘Taurus’ song, then they can show that it was unprotectable, and there will then be no infringement,” he said.

Lawyers for Led Zeppelin are expected as well to call into question whether Wolfe had a legal claim to “Taurus.” In 1967, the young songwriter signed over the rights to his songs to a music company in exchange for royalties. In court filings, Led Zeppelin’s lawyers have claimed that Taurus was written after Wolfe signed the agreement, which could undermine his estate’s claim.

Malofiy plans to call former band mates and Wolfe’s siblings to the stand to counter that allegation with testimony that the song was written the previous year as a love song for his girlfriend. Wolfe’s suit also argues that he was under 18 when he signed away his rights, rendering it invalid.

Because of the statute of limitations, the Wolfe estate is only able to seek revenue produced by “Stairway” since 2011, or the three years before the latest remastered version was released in 2014. But going forward, any percentage of monies coming out of sales or airplay of the song could add up to a significant windfall for the estate of Wolfe, who drowned in Hawaii in 1997 while rescuing his son from a strong undertow.

This is not the first time Zeppelin has faced the question of copyright infringement. The group altered songwriting credits for “Whole Lotta Love” and “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” in the wake of similar claims, and settled an infringement suit over the song “Dazed and Confused” in 2012. Klausner, however, has barred Malofiy from introducing any previous infringement claims against Led Zeppelin.

Among the other most notorious cases of copyright infringement of pop music: former Beatle George Harrison was found to have “unconsciously plagiarized” the Chiffons’ 1963 pop hit “He’s So Fine” with his 1970 hit “My Sweet Lord”; the Beach Boys’ 1964 surf rock classic “Surfin’ U.S.A.” now carries a co-writing credit for Chuck Berry after a court verdict that the California band had lifted much of the melody and structure of the song from Berry’s 1958 early rock standard “Sweet Little Sixteen.”

Last year, a federal judge ruled that “Happy Birthday to You,” which for decades has been treated as a copyrighted composition, was in fact part of the public domain and therefore not protected.

“I find this case to be really interesting,” said intellectual property litigator Josh Schiller, partner in the New York firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner. “I’m concerned about a series of recent cases in which if one song just feels like another song [constitutes infringement], we’re creating a different standard” of what qualifies for copyright protection.

“Music all comes from the same place, it’s all referential, it’s all sourced anyway,” Schiller said. “What the jury will do, hopefully, when you have 12 people in a room together, will be to decide whether this was a significant instance of copying.”
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Pigmeat on June 12, 2016, 1402 UTC: Fansome, sometimes you're a right thinking man. I must be having some positive influence on you.

There was a DJ on a local AOR station in '73/'74 who would play Taurus and Stairway back to back, give the recording dates and say "Decide for yourself, folks." He was right then, he's right now.

What always bothered me was that the late Howlin' Wolf was too old to do a Moe Howard, get Page and Plant in headlock, knock 'em together, while yelling, "Quit stealin' my music unless you want to end up on the killin' floor!"

Led Zeppelin, I rate them up there with the Monkees and the Archies.

Now if you folks will excuse me, I've got to go to the bathroom to take a big ol' Robert Plant.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: L Cee on June 14, 2016, 0443 UTC: Love em or hate em - it's hard not to like this !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFxOaDeJmXk
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Pigmeat on June 14, 2016, 1916 UTC: I knew this was a set up. Sheldon Cooper on lead guitar fronted by the Vancouver, BC. Senior Ladies Club acoustic duet. I did like the animated corpses in the box seats, they were almost life-like.

You think they would have got Bernadette and Penny to front Sheldon's band with Amy on the rhythm cello? They could have done "Billy Don't Be A Hero" or some other iconic song of the era.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: L Cee on June 15, 2016, 0053 UTC: Quote from: Pigmeat on June 14, 2016, 1916 UTC
I did like the animated corpses in the box seats, they were almost life-like.

Hahahahahaha very true - those old geezers in the balcony looked like they had been dead for quite a while.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Skipmuck on June 15, 2016, 0100 UTC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg-MuLvAQe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKgK91zCq44
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: jFarley on June 15, 2016, 0133 UTC: "A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians."

- Frank Zappa
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Fansome on June 15, 2016, 0204 UTC: Old musicians never die; they just de-compose.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Pigmeat on June 15, 2016, 0704 UTC: Or in the cases of Keith Richards and Iggy Pop, they fossilize.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on June 17, 2016, 1552 UTC: Led Zeppelin??? Huh?

More like Dead Tampon!

Come on... now everyone is gonna fight over riffs...? If there was one person in this world that had/has listen to every song ever written he/she would hear something that has been done before.

It's like writing a novel... damn it everything worth hearing has been done before... except for Frank Zappa... ie: "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" and DEVO ie: "I Saw My Girl Getting Sloppy"

Pretty soon they'll be fighting over rhythm guitar progressions... Lets' figure out who/whom wrote the original 12 bar blues rhythm... think about it... Let's see maybe even a fight over the chord progression E-A-B... or E=F#-A-B etc etc

mean while I'll go back to listening to Richard Cheese...
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on June 20, 2016, 2020 UTC: OK... I checked the riff on that tune today... I didn't have anything better to do really.

It's nothing special... back when I was at University I heard first year music students doing better stuff as practice material... I'm not kidding folks... And NO I wasn't a music major. These guys and gals were excellent and a damned sight better than this dirty crap we have been fed for the past... Oh... say... 60 or 70 years...

Since then look at todays music... pure Bovine Scat with pig poo on the top, hell you can't even use it for fertilizer it's so bad... GD this and GD than gonna slap de hell out of my st-pid ho ho ho. with electric drums and stinky poo samples... gheeessss! And 'Lady gag' is just the worse... and all of those other half a**ed no talent people that have sold their souls for the all mighty $$$. These people don't do anything... it's the producers that are screwing everything up... Hell even the 'engineers' can't remaster an old LP properly...

Is it any wonder I stopped listening to 'modern' music?....

Ok... seriously... time to listen to some Count Basie... Yeah... that's where I'm really at in case anyone wonders. ...but why would they...?
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: fpeconsultant on June 20, 2016, 2316 UTC: There's only so many notes that can be played (12 in a chromatic scale), and it's bound to happen that some times the same notes get played and even in the same order.....
The thing that George Harrison, Millie vanillie, etc and maybe jimmy Page all forget to do was to change the key of the song - - - then things are a bit less obvious...
FPE
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Josh on June 21, 2016, 1554 UTC: It all goes to hell when musicians make music to impress other musicians.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Nella F. on June 21, 2016, 2225 UTC: Gotta share this: Stationed on the 'shitty-kitty' back in '69 @ ye olde Yankee Station & a shipmate had Led's first album. This shipmate was from the town across the Willamette from my home Oregon City. Anyway the real reason for this post; these two cities hi school football teams have an annual "homecoming/game." So in the trophy case @ OCHS is a football with the 1899 (Yes, Eighteen nighty-nine) final score:
Oregon City Pioneers: 99
West Linn Lions : 0 (tee hee) :D
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Fansome on June 24, 2016, 0042 UTC: Jury finds Led Zeppelin did not steal riff for ‘Stairway’
Image

By Brian Melley, Associated Press

Thursday, June 23, 2016 | 11:05 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Led Zeppelin did not steal a riff from an obscure 1960s instrumental tune to use for the introduction of its classic rock anthem "Stairway to Heaven," a federal court jury decided Thursday.

The verdict in Los Angeles settles a point that music fans have debated for decades but didn't find its way to court until two years ago, when the trustee for the late Randy Craig Wolfe filed a copyright lawsuit.

The trust claimed that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page lifted a passage that Wolfe, better known as Randy California, wrote for "Taurus," a short work he recorded with his band Spirit in 1968.

Page and singer Robert Plant showed little emotion as the verdict was read then hugged their lawyers.

Jurors found the trust had cleared a few hurdles, including that Page and Plant had "access" to "Taurus," meaning they would have been familiar with it.

Trust attorney Francis Malofiy said he was sad and disappointed by the jury's decision.

"The reality is that we proved access, but they could never hear what they had access to," Malofiy said. "It's bizarre."

In trying to show the works were substantially similar, the trust had the tricky task of relying on sheet music because that's what is filed with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Jurors were not played the "Taurus" recording, which contains a section that sounds very similar to the instantly recognizable start of "Stairway." Instead, they were played guitar and piano renditions by musicians on both sides of the case. Not surprisingly, the plaintiff's version on guitar sounded more like "Stairway" than the defense version on piano.

Page and Plant, who wrote the "Stairway" lyrics, said their creation was an original. In several hours of often-animated and amusing testimony, they described the craft behind one of rock's best-known songs, all the while denying knowledge of one of the genre's least-known tunes.

Plant cracked up the courtroom when said he didn't remember most people he had hung out with over the years.

In closing arguments, Malofiy criticized Page and Plant's "selective" memories and "convenient" truths on the witness stand.

Experts for both sides dissected both compositions, agreeing mainly that they shared a descending chord progression that dates back three centuries as a building block in lots of songs.

The trust's experts, however, went further and noted several other similarities that made the two works unlike the many other tunes they were compared to, including "My Funny Valentine," and The Beatles' "Michelle."

Led Zeppelin's lawyer said the trust didn't own the copyright and that the plaintiff failed to prove a case that should have been brought more than 40 years ago when Wolfe was alive and Page and singer Robert Plant would have had better memories.

"How can you wait a half century and criticize people ... 45 years later for the delay you caused?" Peter Anderson said. "They should have sued in 1972."

Wolfe, who drowned in 1997 saving his son at a beach in Hawaii, had spoken with lawyers over the years about suing, but they never took on the case because it was old, said Glen Kulik another lawyer for the trust. A Supreme Court ruling in 2014 over the movie "Raging Bull" opened the door to bring a copyright case at any time with damages only dating back three years and continuing into the future.

Malofiy asked jurors to give Wolfe a songwriting credit and millions of dollars in damages, though he didn't provide a specific figure. The defense said record label profits from the past five years were $868,000, but Anderson reminded jurors that only a fraction of the eight-minute song was being challenged.

The trial took jurors and lucky observers who managed to pack into the courtroom on a musical journey through the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Spirit, a California psychedelic group that blended jazz and rock was achieving stardom as the hard-rocking British band was being founded.

Stops on the tour of testimony included Spirit shows at "love-ins" during the "Summer of Love," Led Zeppelin's U.S. debut as an opening act for Spirit and Vanilla Fudge in Denver in December 1968 and, finally, to a country house in the south of England where Page, Plant and bassist John Paul Jones described how "Stairway" was born.

Page said his ambition was to write a song that would accelerate to a crescendo and he first shared the opening with keyboardist and bassist John Paul Jones to get an ally in his scheme.

Singer Robert Plant said he was sitting by the fire at Headley Grange in the spring of 1970, when Page played the intro on acoustic guitar and he offered the start of a couplet he had been working on: "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold/and she's buying a stairway to heaven."

Jurors never heard a note from Page or Plant live, but they were treated to lo-fi vintage recordings of the band creating the song, renditions on guitar and piano by other musicians and, finally, the full recording of one of rock's most enduring anthems.

Page, 72, bobbed his head and moved to the tune while Plant, 67, sat still. Both men wore sharp suits, white shirts and ties throughout the trial and had their hair pulled back in neat ponytails.

They didn't chat with anyone in the gallery, including several fans, and were escorted by personal bodyguards to the restroom and in and out of the federal courthouse each day. One afternoon, a group of women clapped and Page flashed a smile as the rock stars were hustled across the courthouse corridor to a private hallway.

The case is not the first time Led Zeppelin was accused of swiping another artist's work. The lawsuit listed at least six other songs in which the band reached settlements over songwriting credits for works including "Whole Lotta Love," ''The Lemon Song," and "Dazed and Confused."
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: jFarley on June 24, 2016, 0201 UTC: And the forest will echo with laughter.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Pigmeat on June 24, 2016, 0600 UTC: I knew a girl who had an on/off relationship Robert Plant in the 70's. She was very popular girl. Around that time she was id'ed by the local Health Dept. as a primary carrier in her area of a particularly virulent strain of the clap from the Philippines that was raging along the East Coast in '77/'78.

I wonder if it still burns when he pees?
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Nella F. on June 24, 2016, 2235 UTC: You do Not want to catch the Clap in the P. I., trust me on that! :o
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Pigmeat on June 25, 2016, 0407 UTC: I'm just glad she was out of my league or I would have contracted it, too.

Great girl, great looking, combined with the morals of a drunken frat boy, and with money to burn. She was fun to run around with and an excellent wing woman. When the word got out about her status she headed off for points south.

I last saw her at her wedding, 26 years ago. Her parents, who were observant Jews, were always trying to fix her up with nice Jewish boys. She'd go on the date as the folks would threaten to cut off her funds if she didn't at least play along, but she would always order a bacon cheeseburger to start out the evening, followed by "Wanna bite?" when it arrived. She finally got a taker who was as crazy as she was and married him.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on June 25, 2016, 2235 UTC: Quote from: Nella F. on June 24, 2016, 2235 UTC
You do Not want to catch the Clap in the P. I., trust me on that! :o

Nella,

The Clap is the least of ones worries in the P.I.! These days folks that mess around are playing Russian roulette with a nasty version of HIV/AIDS. Eventho the working girls are medically checked (yeah right) every month it's showing up in the 'puki casas' over there and not everything that looks like a woman is... if you get my drift.

And you talk about drugs... Shabu is the candy of the people but there will be a new President sworn in at the end of this month and the drug raids are going 2 to 3 (on the news) every day. The drug kingpins have already put a bounty on the new Presidents head because the President has put a bounty on the drug kingpins heads... dead or alive... gotta love it...

People are surrendering by the hundreds to get help with their drug habits.

Many of the Cities have put in place curfews for under aged children and no drinking in public for adults... Oh yeah... adult males can't run around without shirts....

I digress from here...

No shirts for guys.... makes me miss Maine in a way... in Maine women can go topless if they like because there is no law against it... There was a law once but it was struck down because of the equal rights for women movement... problem is none of the local ladies will do that because it tends to be a bit chilly... ::) You guys should check out Old Orchard Beach during the heat of the summer... look but never touch... OK! ;D
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Nella F. on June 25, 2016, 2249 UTC: Hey ka1iic: "Hey Joe smoke pot?" was the most I heard... but this was '77 & I had just re-entered the Navy after being out for 5 years, & what a messed-up directionless 5er that was. You know, not once did someone say "Hey Joe, you want rubber?" Not that I would of put one of those on in any case. :o
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on June 26, 2016, 0337 UTC: Quote from: Nella F. on June 25, 2016, 2249 UTC
Hey ka1iic: "Hey Joe smoke pot?" was the most I heard... but this was '77 & I had just re-entered the Navy after being out for 5 years, & what a messed-up directionless 5er that was. You know, not once did someone say "Hey Joe, you want rubber?" Not that I would of put one of those on in any case. :o

Well the new President is going against the Church over there and is promoting birth-control and he has recommended a family have no more than 3 children. This guy is really going to give it a try to break up the foolishness and corruption, he has told certain persons in high government to resign quietly or he will tell the world who the corrupt persons are.

As for Maryjane, that isn't the real problem anymore, it's the harder stuff that the Chinese are bringing in... It's China's effort to weaken the people so they won't get so upset with the new Chinese Air base in the Spratly Islands. They kinda sorta took a rock and built an island out of it with a full blown air strip that can handle the biggest war planes China has to offer.

There will be wars and rumors of wars <sigh>

Many Filipinos were upset that the current President Pnoy just didn't try... He had the name of a National hero but no belly for the fight. Sad really...

I hope to get over there but I have so much crap I have to get in place before I leave... Anyway I will get there, hope the dollar goes back up over 47 peso per $$ then things will look a whole lot better.
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: Skipmuck on June 26, 2016, 1258 UTC: And as we wind on down the road, our shadow's taller than our soul
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on June 26, 2016, 1746 UTC: And an important PSA for all:

VD is nothing to clap about.

Amen!

PS, VD & HIV/AIDS & IV drug use is a big problem here in Ohio too, so it isn't just a problem in 3rd world Countries folks.

vgw
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: skeezix on July 11, 2016, 0139 UTC: 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>
Title: Re: Did Led Zeppelin steal a riff for 'Stairway to Heaven'?
Post by: ka1iic on September 27, 2016, 0207 UTC: Watta bunch ofa crap!!!

These jerks needs to play good with each other... these copyright scams are all BS IMHO