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The lawsuit
alleges that Led Zeppelin lifted the opening chords for
"Stairway to Heaven" from the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by the
American band Spirit.
Page, 72, took the witness stand in federal court in Los Angeles
on Wednesday, where he said he did not recall hearing "Taurus"
until recently, after he had been made aware of comparisons
being made between the two songs.
The British musician also testified that he did not recall
opening for Spirit at Led Zeppelin's first U.S. show in Denver
in 1968, and said he had never seen Spirit perform live.
Page was joined in court by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant,
who is also expected to testify in the case.
The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the
late Randy Wolfe, Spirit's guitarist and the composer of
"Taurus." Wolfe, also known as Randy California, drowned in the
Pacific Ocean in 1997.
The case comes just over a year after a federal jury in Los
Angeles found recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams
had plagiarized Motown great Marvin Gaye in creating their hit
single "Blurred Lines," and awarded Gaye's family $7.4 million.
Skidmore has said Page may have been inspired to write "Stairway
to Heaven" after hearing Spirit perform "Taurus" while the bands
toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never received
credit.
Attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, representing Skidmore, told
a jury in opening arguments on Wednesday that the case centers
on an infringement by Led Zeppelin of copyright law, which
protects artistic creation.
Led Zeppelin attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments
that the musical riff in question was not unique.
"No one owns common musical elements," Anderson said.
U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury
might find "substantial" similarity between the first two
minutes of "Stairway" and "Taurus," and to let it decide whether
Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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