Take a listen to these two songs. The first is easily recognizable as Led Zeppelin’s classic “Stairway to Heaven,” and has been hailed by fans and critics alike as being one of the greatest rock hits of all time since its 1971 release.

Now listen to song #2. This instrumental is titled “Taurus” and was released in 1968 on the debut album of the lesser known American rock band Spirit. Somewhere near the 45-second mark you may begin to notice something. The melodies begin to sound pretty similar.

So much so that a Los Angeles judge ruled Friday that a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Led Zeppelin’s lead singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page will head to trial.

The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for estate of the late Randy Wolfe, also known as Randy California, who was Spirit’s guitarist as well as the composer of “Taurus.” Skidmore first filed the lawsuit against Led Zeppelin in 2014 claiming that Led Zeppelin was inspired to write “Stairway to Heaven” after hearing Spirit perform “Taurus” during shared gigs in 1968 and 1969.

However, the judge noted that Led Zeppelin’s surviving members testified “they never toured with, shared a stage with, or listened to any of Spirit’s music during these brief encounters.”

Still in a 1979 winter issue of the magazine “Listener,” Wolfe called Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” a  “ripoff” saying,

And the guys made millions of bucks on it and never said ‘Thank you,’ never said, ‘Can we pay you some money for it?’ It’s kind of a sore point with me. Maybe someday their conscience will make them do something about it.

Wolfe drowned that same year while rescuing his 12-year-old son from a rip current near his home in Hawaii.

According to Rolling Stone, Spirit and Wolfe’s family waited until now to challenge the song’s copyright because they lacked the finances to afford an attorney.

This isn’t the first time Led Zeppelin has been accused of plagiarizing other artists. In 2014 Bloomberg Businessweek explained that the band has built somewhat of a reputation for “borrowing” bits and pieces from blues and folk singers. Over several decades Led Zeppelin has been forced to alter credits and royalties for some of its biggest songs after artists successfully won similar copyright infringement lawsuits against it. The plagiarism accusations have even lead to rise in YouTube mashup videos comparing Led Zeppelin’s songs to their alleged influencers.

The music industry has seen a rise in high profile copyright infringement cases in recent years, including Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ loss to Marvin Gaye’s family over their song “Blurred Lines” and Sam Smith’s rumored settlement with Tom Petty over his song “Stay With Me.” In both cases the songs’ similarities to their predecessors are almost unnoticeable to non-audiophiles’ ears. That can’t necessarily be said of Led Zeppelin and Spirit’s case.

The “Stairway to Heaven” trial is set to begin on May 10. Wolfe’s estate attorneys are asking that he be credited for the song and earn a portion of the song’s profits, which according to NPR were up to $562 million in 2008. However, Wolfe’s trustee could only earn half of any awarded damages due to a 1967 contract that Wolfe signed.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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A lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania claiming that the popular English rock band Led Zeppelin plagiarized the iconic song “Stairway to Heaven” is moving forward after a federal judge denied the band’s motion to dismiss the case. The case claims that Zeppelin lifted parts of “Stairway” from “Taurus,” a song by the lesser-known American band, Spirit. The suit was filed by the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, a group that’s made up of family members of Spirit’s founder, better known as Randy California. They stand to gain a chunk of Zeppelin’s earnings from the song, which as of 2008 were valued at about $562 million.

“Stairway” was released in 1971, three years after “Taurus.” It’s possible that Zeppelin was heavily influenced by Spirit, as they played together several times in 1968 and 1969. When listened to, no Zeppelin fan can deny that the two songs are very similar. Namely, the opening to the eight-minute “Stairway” sounds a lot like the entirety of Spirit’s two-and-a-half minute song, which is an instrumental with no vocals.

The plaintiff’s complaint is amended from an original one filed in May. Zeppelin’s lawyers in September filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that there was no sense in the suit taking place in Pennsylvania, as they’re all British citizens who have no connection or property in Pennsylvania. Zeppelin’s motion said that they’d be willing to move the case to Los Angeles, but Philadelphia Federal District Court Judge Juan Sánchez denied the motion to dismiss after the plaintiff amended the case to say that Zeppelin has made money off of Stairway in Pennsylvania, and therefore it is an appropriate venue.

The Daily Beast points out that Zeppelin is no stranger to lawsuits about its content. The band has been sued by for its songs, “Bring It on Home,” “Killing Floor,” and “Dazed and Confused” by artists alleging that Zeppelin’s songs are too similar to their own. All those cases, however, were settled outside of the courtroom.

If this case doesn’t end in a settlement, however, a court would have to rule whether Zeppelin infringed Spirit’s copyright by deciding whether “Stairway” sounds like “Taurus.” Even if the judge or jury believes that Zeppelin copied Spirit subconsciously, precedent tells us it’s enough to say they plagiarised. In an infamous 1976 case, former Beatle George Harrison was found liable of copyright infringement for using similar music in his song “My Sweet Lord” as the song “He’s So Fine” by Ronald Mack. The court ruled that Harrison unconsciously plagiarized Mack’s work

Although this may sound like the beginning of the end for “Stairway’s” reign as one of rock and roll’s greatest songs, the details of the case suggest otherwise. Sánchez denied Zeppelin’s motion to dismiss “without prejudice to reassertion as to Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint.” As an article in Bloomberg Businessweek explains, all that complicated legalese means is that Zeppelin can argue another reason to dismiss the case, and they’ll probably succeed.

That being said, it’s noteworthy that Zeppelin picked the Pennsylvania venue as the reason to ask for a dismissal, and that they are willing to take on the case in California, where Spirit is from and where there could be more relevant witnesses. If Zeppelin has a better reason to dismiss the case, they might have used it already. There is no telling at this point, but I have to say, ooh, it makes me wonder.

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Zaid Shoorbajee (@ZBajee)

Featured image courtesy of [Heinrich Klaffs vi Flickr]

Zaid Shoorbajee

Zaid Shoorbajee is a an undergraduate student at The George Washington University majoring in journalism and economics. He is from the Washington, D.C. area and likes reading and writing about international affairs, politics, business and technology (especially when they intersect). Contact Zaid at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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