A federal appeals court on Monday restored a jury verdict that found Led Zeppelin did not steal B次元官网网址淪tairway to Heaven.B次元官网网址�

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco handed the major win to guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant and dealt a blow to the estate of Randy Wolfe of the band Spirit. The estate claimed that the 1971 mega-hit B次元官网网址淪tairway to HeavenB次元官网网址� violated the copyright of the 1968 song B次元官网网址淭aurus.B次元官网网址�

A majority of an 11-judge panel overturned a previous ruling that the jury in the 2016 trial should have heard the recording of B次元官网网址淭aurusB次元官网网址� and was given poor instructions before jurors found in favour of Page and Plant.

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The composition of the two songs, not their recordings, were at issue in the case, but the plaintiffs had sought to play the two recordings for jurors as part of their argument that Page had access to the song B次元官网网址淭aurusB次元官网网址� as required to prove a copyright violation.

The attorney for the estate, Francis Malofiy, said that Led Zeppelin prevailed because of technicalities and judgesB次元官网网址� misunderstanding of copyright law with their insistence that sheet-music transcriptions of the songs filed with the U.S. copyright office were the only relevant material, especially given that neither Page nor Wolfe even read music.

B次元官网网址淚 have to go to court proving that Jimmy Page copied something that he never saw,B次元官网网址� said Malofiy, who plans to appeal the decision.

He said it was B次元官网网址渞idiculousB次元官网网址� that jurors could not simply hear the two songs in dispute, and that if they could the case would be an easy call for the Wolfe estate.

B次元官网网址淚ts frustrating when justice is the search for the truth and the truth escapes us,B次元官网网址� Malofiy said.

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Representatives for Led Zeppelin declined comment.

MondayB次元官网网址檚 ruling found that because the jury found that Page did have access to the song that the issue was irrelevant, and playing the recording might have prejudiced the jury to consider more than just the compositions.

B次元官网网址淲hen Page testified, he candidly admitted to owning B次元官网网址榓 copy of the album that contains B次元官网网址楾aurus,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the ruling states. The jury found that both Page and Plant B次元官网网址檋ad access to the musical composition Taurus before B次元官网网址淪tairway to HeavenB次元官网网址� was created, it said.

B次元官网网址淥nce the jury made that finding, the remaining questions on the jury verdict form related to substantial similarity of the works.B次元官网网址�

Many of the judges were skeptical at the caseB次元官网网址檚 hearing in September over the playing of the recording, suggesting that it was a backdoor way for the plaintiffs to get the jury to hear the record.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got to get your sound recording in to win, donB次元官网网址檛 you?B次元官网网址� Judge Andrew D. Hurwitz said as he questioned Malofiy. B次元官网网址淵ou lose the case unless you do. A hundred times out of a hundred.B次元官网网址�

The 9th Circuit also broke with its own precedent on the question of jury instructions and rejected the so-called B次元官网网址渋nverse ratioB次元官网网址� rule, which held that the more the plaintiffs could prove that an alleged song thief had access to the original material, the lower the standard became for finding the two works similar.

The judge in the trial court did not instruct the jury on the rule. MondayB次元官网网址檚 decision found that he did not need to.

At issue is the classic acoustic introductory lick to B次元官网网址淪tairway to Heaven,B次元官网网址� constantly played by amateurs in guitar shops for nearly 50 years, and the riff at the centre of the Spirit instrumental B次元官网网址淭aurus,B次元官网网址� which follows a similar musical line.

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The ruling, which could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a potentially precedent-setting win for musical acts accused of plagiarism, and comes in a period when many star songwriters have lost high-profile cases.

Jurors decided in a 2015 trial that Robin ThickeB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏lurred LinesB次元官网网址� copied Marvin GayeB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淕ot to Give It Up,B次元官网网址� and a jury last year year found that Katy PerryB次元官网网址檚 hit B次元官网网址淒ark HorseB次元官网网址� copied from a Christian rap song.

Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press

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