Thursday’s verdict for Led Zeppelin in the copyright trial over the 1971 hit song “Stairway to Heaven” reaffirms the creative rights of songwriters while demonstrating the difficulties in pursuing infringement over sheet music, according to legal experts following the case.
The jury’s decision followed a highly publicized trial that featured testimonies from Led Zeppelin band members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page about the origins of “Stairway to Heaven.” The case was brought by the trustee for the estate of Randy Craig Wolfe, known professionally as Randy California, which alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that Led Zeppelin ripped off “Taurus,” a song from California’s band, Spirit, in writing the first two minutes and 37 seconds of “Stairway to Heaven.”
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