Author: Aris M. Shatteen

A federal district judge has put Led Zeppelin on the stairway to a jury trial, denying the legendary rock band’s motion for summary judgment on a copyright infringement claim against it over the classic tune Stairway to Heaven (a tip of the hat to Courthouse New for posting the judge’s ruling). The trial has been scheduled for May 10, and if the trust for rocker Randy Craig Wolfe (aka Randy California), of the band Spirit, is victorious, it could force Led Zepplin to reliquinish part of the song’s profits. Those are estimated to amount to at least $562 million between royalties and record sales. The trust, as part of its lawsuit, also is seeking a songwriting credit for Wolfe. The dispute over this song has been as long and almost as legendary as the iconic tune itself, with the court noting the controversy’s roots dating to the late Sixties. So, besides listening and comparing the two songs in videos (above), how this case finally gotten to trial? In May, 2014, Wolfe’s trust sued the remaining Led Zeppelin members, alleging the band had copied the guitar riff in rock band Spirit’s song Taurus, recorded in 1967. Plaintiff’s expert stated, “80% of the pitches of the first eighteen notes match, along with their rhythms and metric placement.” Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin raised the defenses of abandonment,  defective deposit copy, and that the...