Members of the rock group Led Zeppelin have been in and out of court for the past six years over their chart topping smash “Stairway to Heaven”.
In 2014, the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe – aka – Randy California – field a suit of copyright infringement against the rockers for “stealing” part of the song “Taurus”.
In 2016 a jury passed down a verdict in favour of Led Zeppelin. In March 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the 2016 decision.
Not satisfied with the decision, Wolfe’s estate is looking to continue the suit and a petition for a writ of certificate has been filed with the United States Supreme Court. In the petition filed, the estate said, “the (Ninth Circuit) opinion is a disaster for the creatives whose talent is often preyed upon. By the same token, it is a gift to the music industry and its attorney – enthusiastically received – by a circuit whose own judge once observed: ‘Our circuit is the most hostile to copyright owners of all the circuits.
“Stairway to Heaven” appeared on “Led Zeppelin IV”, an album that has been certified with a Diamond Award by the RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America – for selling at least 10 million copies – 23 million. The album has sold nearly 40 million copies around the world.
feature photo credit: By p a h, United Kingdom profile – Led Zeppelin by p a h, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3330909