Led Zeppelin Wins 'Stairway to Heaven' Copyright Case

Led Zeppelin will not have to face a jury a second time to answer whether they lifted the opening riff to their rock epic “Stairway to Heaven” from another song after the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday that the rock legends did not infringe the little-known song’s copyright, Courthouse News reports.

“Stairway to Heaven” is a staple in the pantheon of rock and roll, but the question of whether the song’s opening was stolen from a Los Angeles prog-rock band has been the subject of protracted proceedings in federal court and on appeal. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page begins the 8-minute epic with an acoustic arpeggio plucking that music journalist Michael Skidmore argued sounds like the opening to the 1968 song “Taurus” from the LA-based band Spirit. “Stairway to Heaven” was released in 1971.


Skidmore filed a copyright suit on behalf of Spirit’s late guitarist Randy California, born Randy Wolfe. In 2016 a federal jury in Los Angeles agreed that while Robert Plant and Page likely heard “Taurus” before they wrote “Stairway,” Skidmore could not prove the two songs were extrinsically similar.

On appeal, Skidmore argued the jury was not allowed to hear any recordings to compare similarities. A Ninth Circuit panel agreed and remanded the case, but Led Zeppelin requested and was granted an en banc rehearing.

Writing for the majority, U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, a Bill Clinton appointee, says the 1909 Copyright Act controls because “Taurus” was registered in 1967, before the 1976 Copyright Act. Under the older law, courts and juries need not consider sound recordings, just Spirit’s deposit copy – one page of music notes.

While Skidmore suggested the deposit copy for “Taurus” extends beyond the sheet of music and becomes a reference point, McKeown said that would ignore the purpose of the deposit.

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page

“The text is clear – for unpublished works, the author must deposit one complete copy of such work,” McKeown wrote for the majority. “The purpose of the deposit is to make a record of the claimed copyright, provide notice to third parties, and prevent confusion about the scope of the copyright.”

The deposit copy “defines the four corners” of the song’s copyright, McKeown wrote in the 54-page opinion.

Skidmore argued Page was a fan of Spirit before “Stairway to Heaven” was released, saw Spirit perform live and even had a copy of the band’s album. When Page testified at trial in 2016, the court allowed Skidmore to play Spirit’s music for Page outside the presence of the jury. While Skidmore argued the jury should have been able to watch Page for reaction, McKeown indicated it would have been a pointless exercise.

McKeown concluded: “The trial and appeal process has been a long climb up the Stairway to Heaven. The parties and their counsel have acquitted themselves well in presenting complicated questions of copyright law. We affirm the judgment that Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven did not infringe Spirit’s Taurus.”