Led Zeppelin to face ‘Stairway to Heaven’ copyright case

A US court has ruled that the founders of rock band Led Zeppelin must face a jury trial to determine whether the band’s most famous song “Stairway to Heaven” infringed copyright belonging to a band called Spirit.

In a decision handed down on Friday, April 8, the US District Court for the Central District of California said the 1971 Led Zeppelin hit was sufficiently similar to Sprit’s track “Taurus”, an instrumental piece released in 1967, to warrant a jury trial.

A trial date has been set for May 10.

Led Zeppelin had earlier convinced the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where the case was originally filed, to transfer the case to California because it said it would be able to call on more witnesses.

The dispute concerns a claim filed by Michael Skidmore on behalf of the late Randy Craig, the founder of Spirit.

“Taurus” is a two-and-a-half minute instrumental and features on Spirit’s 1968 self-titled debut album. Spirit claimed that Led Zeppelin became familiar with the song when the band was supporting Spirit in various performances across the US in the 1960s.

Led Zeppelin was founded by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records, Led Zeppelin’s record labels, have also been named as defendants.