Led Zeppelin Win ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case
Led Zeppelin have effectively won their ongoing legal battle of their 1971 track Stairway to Heaven.
The case was opened in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, a trustee representing the estate of Randy Wolfe of US band Spirit, accused Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of plagiarizing the opening guitar riff from Taurus, released in 1968 by Spirit.
Led Zeppelin embarked on their North American tour in 1968 and happened to occasionally be on the same bill as Spirit in 1968/1969.
In 2016 Jimmy Page testified in a jury trial that he’d only heard the track Taurus in recent years.
However, that may be hard to believe as Led Zeppelin did know of Spirit at the time, by covering their track Fresh Garbage in their 1968 & 1969 tour.
The US Supreme Court declined to take on the case, meaning the earlier March 2020 ruling in favour of Led Zeppelin will stand.