A musical riff Led Zeppelin is accused of stealing from another band for its 1971 classic "Stairway to Heaven" was not unique, singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page's attorney said at a civil trial on Tuesday.
Published : 16 Jun 2016, 03:59 AM
"No one owns common musical elements," defence attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments for the copyright infringement trial in Los Angeles federal court.
The lawsuit, which alleges the British band stole the opening chords for "Stairway to Heaven" from the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by the American band Spirit, was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit's guitarist and the composer of "Taurus".
The case comes just over a year after a federal jury in Los Angeles found recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had plagiarised Motown great Marvin Gaye in creating their hit single "Blurred Lines", and awarded Gaye's family $7.4 million.
In the latest case, Plant, 67, and Page, 72, appeared in court on Tuesday sporting long gray hair and are expected to testify eventually in the closely watched trial.
Wolfe, also known as Randy California, drowned in the Pacific Ocean in 1997.
US District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury might find "substantial" similarity between the first two minutes of "Stairway" and "Taurus", and to let it decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.
"It gives credit to creation but it does not give credit to copying," Malofiy said.
Anderson said his side will present evidence showing neither Skidmore nor Wolfe's trust own the copyright to "Taurus".
When asked if she and her brother had ever discussed "Stairway to Heaven", Janet Wolfe said yes.
"It was something that upset him for many, many years," she said.