OT- Stairway to Heaven

[PineGroveBully]

So a judge has agreed that Led Zepplin must go to court to defend copyright laws on whether they stole the guitar riff on "Stairway to Heaven", can you imagine what the judge will award the other group/artist if proven it was plagiarized? I could see $100-200 million

 

[11thEagleFan]

Seems a little late for a lawsuit? You'd think the other side would be time-barred.

 

[birdawg]

It was definitely ripped off. Some call Led Zeppelin the greatest cover band of all time.

 

[121Josey]

Sounds like somebody wanting to change current copyright laws.

 

[MagnoliaHunter]

not true. They've ONLY had to pay off someone 5 times for stealling songs***

It was definitely ripped off. Some call Led Zeppelin the greatest cover band of all time.

or at least that many

thieving 17ers

 

[coach66]

The guy they ripped off drowned many years ago so unfortunately he won't gain

But maybe his family will. I read a good article in Businessweek a couple of years ago on this subject and it appeared highly likely that Led Zeppelin borrowed on many occasions. Probably happens a lot more than people realize.

 

[Dawgzilla]

They can only get three years worth of damages, but there is no longer any type of time bar. In a 2014 opinion, which I consider terrible, the Supreme Court held that the 3 year statute of limitations in the Copyright Act is a limitation on the damages period, but not a time bar to bringing a lawsuit. Essentially, a copyright owner can sit back and wait for the infringer to start making a substantial profit, and THEN bring the lawsuit. The copyright owner can get damages for three years prior to the suit, and going forward.

In the past, accused infringers would claim "laches", and the copyright owner would have to provide some legitimate reason for waiting beyond three years to bring their lawsuit. That is no longer a defense to copyright infringement.

I said three years of damages, but that is looking backward. So its three years prior to the day the lawsuit was first filed, and maybe a little extra time if the copyright owner can prove that Led Zepplin somehow prevented them from bringing suit earlier. They will also get damages for sales after the suit was filed.

The case will probably settle now that the Court has ruled the case can go forward.

 

[jakldawg]

So finding this Whole Lotta Love "inspiration"


led me to this:


Was Zeppelin really trying to pass off "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You, Babe" (and several other blues songs) as original work and not straight-up covers?

 

[The Peeper]

I read an article first then listened to the first couple minutes last night of the song in question and it definitely sounds like Stairway to Heaven. My wife walked through and I asked her to tell me what song it reminded her off and without having a clue why I was asking she said "it sounds a lot like that, uh, uh, Stairway to Heaven song"