Led Zeppelin - Can Settle Stairway Lawsuit For $1 And Writing Credit
Two years ago, Led Zeppelin faced a copyright infringement claim by a lawyer for the defunct 1960s group Spirit arguing that the opening notes of their iconic song "Stairway To Heaven" sound a lot like "Taurus", an instrumental piece by the late Spirit guitarist Randy California, released on his band's debut album in 1968. Well, now the lawyers suing Led Zeppelin over claims that the opening to "Stairway To Heaven" was stolen say their client is willing to settle for the sum of $1 but there's a catch.
According to Bloomberg News, the $1 offer would, however, come at a bigger price: Randy California would need a writing credit on the track - not to mention sharing its future profits. "It's always been about credit where credit is due," said attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, representing Michael Skidmore.
Lawyers for Led Zeppelin argue that any similarity between the songs was limited to a musical structure that has existed for centuries, and is too commonplace to be entitled to copyright protection.
A filing by Malofiy in the Led Zeppelin case cites a 2008 agreement that Page and Plant made with Warner/Chappell Music. Under that deal, the songwriters are getting $60 million over 10 years for the company's right to exploit Stairway and other songs. Malofiy contends that under the three-year statute of limitations governing his lawsuit, at least two-thirds of that amount should be allocated to the infringing period. That would be $40 million.
The copyright infringement trial is scheduled for May 10th in Los Angeles federal court. We'll keep you updated.
According to Bloomberg News, the $1 offer would, however, come at a bigger price: Randy California would need a writing credit on the track - not to mention sharing its future profits. "It's always been about credit where credit is due," said attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, representing Michael Skidmore.
Lawyers for Led Zeppelin argue that any similarity between the songs was limited to a musical structure that has existed for centuries, and is too commonplace to be entitled to copyright protection.
A filing by Malofiy in the Led Zeppelin case cites a 2008 agreement that Page and Plant made with Warner/Chappell Music. Under that deal, the songwriters are getting $60 million over 10 years for the company's right to exploit Stairway and other songs. Malofiy contends that under the three-year statute of limitations governing his lawsuit, at least two-thirds of that amount should be allocated to the infringing period. That would be $40 million.
The copyright infringement trial is scheduled for May 10th in Los Angeles federal court. We'll keep you updated.
| theguardian.com | |
| Band profile: | Led Zeppelin |
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| Novas Posts: 234  |
And why wait after 40yrs to file a lawsuit? Could it be a jealous act because the song is so known across the world? It's dumb. Everything came from classical. Should we sue everyone else too? lol. It's just the intro. It's not like Megadeth's "Mechanix" vs Metallica's "Four Horsemen" (although, its Mustaine's song anyway)
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
This whole argument was incredibly stupid and unfounded pretty much as soon as it began. The actual song Taurus is about 2 minutes and 50 seconds long. Stairway clocks in around 8 minutes. Even if Zeppelin had deliberately stolen that chord progression from Taurus and used it for the opening of Stairway..... there are still multiple additional sections to Stairway that sound absolutely nothing like any part of Taurus. It's pretty hard to claim copyright infringement when only about 2 minutes of one song bear slight resemblance to a 30 second chord progression from your own. And yes, as Novas said, why is this only becoming an issue now, over 40 years after the fact? Spirit, plz. Go home. U drunk
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287  |
fun read courtesy of Cracked entitled "the 5 most famous musicians who are thieving bastards." sheds some light on the above...
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| BitterCOld The Ancient One Admin Posts: 15287 |
Written by Irritable Ted on 30.04.2016 at 10:47 the funniest bit in there is the main riff to "Smoke on the Water" coming from a jazz song sung by the woman perhaps most famous for her vox on "The Girl From Ipanema." If, however, Zep's song is "similar" to a band they opened for while touring the US, maybe there is some credence to the claims.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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| afu Posts: 260 |
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