Everything you need to know about Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ copyright infringement trial

Jimmy Page has already testified in court

This week, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin attended Los Angeles court for the infringement trial aiming to determine whether or not the iconic band relied too heavily on the song of one of their classic rock contemporaries when writing “Stairway to Heaven.” The convoluted saga could result in a change of credit and reallocated royalties — and at the very least it’s just the latest in Zeppelin’s decades-long struggle with crediting the influences behind some of their biggest hits. Read on for everything you need to know about the case.

What’s the beef?

Classic rock band Spirit claims Led Zeppelin lifted the opening chords to “Stairway to Heaven” — one of the genre’s most enduring and commercially successful songs — from “Taurus,” a track off the band’s 1968 debut Spirit. According to court documents obtained by EW, Spirit says it shared a bill with Zeppelin three times between 1968 and 1970, meaning the famed British rockers would’ve had multiple opportunities to have heard “Taurus” before releasing Led Zeppelin IV, which includes “Stairway,” in late 1971. The infringement suit was filed in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, who is a trustee for Spirit’s late guitarist Randy Wolfe.

Source: ew.com