Lawyers representing Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Warner Music have requested American District Judge R. Gary Klausner to halt proceedings in Led Zeppelin’s ongoing copyright infringement trial, according to Billboard.
The trial examines whether Led Zeppelin lifted “Stairway To Heaven” from Spirit’s 1967 instrumental “Taurus“.
Now Zeppelin’s lawyer Peter J. Anderson is calling for a halt to the trial, after three days of testimony during which, he argues, the plaintiff hasn’t established the elements of copyright infringement.
“Although the parties’ pre-trial filings identified what plaintiff Michael Skidmore [the trustee who manages the estate of Spirit songwriter Randy Wolfe] needed to prove to establish his claims, Skidmore failed to prove required elements of his claims for direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement,” said Anderson.
During court proceedings, Skidmore’s lawyer Francis Malofiy played “Taurus” alongside “Stairway To Heaven” and tried to ascertain that Page had heard Spirit’s track before writing the Led Zeppelin song. Page denied this, claiming he only heard “Taurus” a few years ago.
Led Zeppelin‘s lawyers are now asking judge Klausner to make a judgement on the case ahead of it resuming later today [June 21].
Uncut: the spiritual home of great rock music.