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9 August 2016Copyright

Led Zeppelin loses damages request in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ copyright case

The publisher for UK rock band Led Zeppelin, music company Warner/Chappell, has lost its request for almost $800,000 in damages following the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright case.

According to reports, Led Zeppelin’s request to claim $793,000 in damages following the not guilty verdict was turned down because the band and Warner/Chappell failed to prove that the lawsuit was frivolous.

Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were accused, along with Warner/Chappell, of stealing a guitar riff from a song called “Taurus” to use in “Stairway to Heaven”.

“Taurus” was written by the late Randy Wolfe, stage name Randy California, for the band Spirit.

The complaint was fil ed in 2014 by Michael Skidmore on behalf of Wolfe.

But in a judgment handed down on June 23, at the US District Court for the Central District of California, a jury cleared the defendants of infringement.

A spokesman from Warner/Chappell previously said that if money was won in the case it would be used to buy musical instruments for disadvantaged children in Ventura County, California.

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More on this story

Copyright
11 July 2016   The publisher for UK rock band Led Zeppelin, music company Warner/Chappell, has demanded up to $800,000 in damages following the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright case.
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24 June 2016   Led Zeppelin won a copyright trial over “Stairway to Heaven” yesterday after the British rock group had been accused of copying a song from a less well-known US band, Spirit.
Copyright
21 March 2017   Rock band Led Zeppelin may have won the copyright battle over their song “Stairway to Heaven” at the US District Court for the Central District of California, but they haven’t won the war.