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The decision was
a victory for Led Zeppelin, one of the top selling rock acts of
all time, after an week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles that had called into question the originality of their
signature song.
The jury, in their second day of deliberations, found Led
Zeppelin's singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page had
access to Spirit's 1967 song "Taurus" but that the riff they
were accused of taking was not intrinsically similar to the
opening chords of "Stairway."
Page and Plant, who have attended court since the beginning of
the closely-watched trial on June 14, showed little reaction
immediately after the verdict was announced in court.
The lawsuit accusing Led Zeppelin of taking a descending chord
progression in "Stairway" from the instrumental "Taurus" was
brought in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the estate of
the late Spirit guitarist and songwriter Randy Wolfe.
Guitarist Jimmy Page, who co-wrote the song with Plant and
worked on the guitar riff, testified that he was largely
unfamiliar with "Taurus," but that he did own a copy of the
band's self-titled album that contained the song.
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; editing by Leslie Adler and David
Gregorio)
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