Led Zeppelin’s attorney urges judge to award band early victory in ‘Stairway’ copyright case

Attorneys for Led Zeppelin’s surviving members asked a federal judge Monday to rule in favor of the classic rock band following less than a full week of proceedings centered around the group’s iconic 1971 opus, “Stairway to Heaven.”

Copyright infringement claims brought against the band should be rejected because the lawyer suing Led Zeppelin failed to prove his case before calling his final witness, attorney Peter Anderson wrote in a motion for judgment filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

“Plaintiff rested and failed to carry his burden of proof on multiple issues. Accordingly, judgment should be entered in defendants’ favor,” Mr. Anderson wrote.

During the course of four days of testimony last week, attorney Michael Skidmore attempted to convince a jury that Led Zeppelin stole the acoustic guitar riff at the beginning of “Stairway” from another song, “Taurus” by Spirit.

Acting on behalf of the estate of late Spirit founder Randy Wolfe, Mr. Skidmore argued that “Stairway” exemplifies the “serial plagiarism” that spawned several of Led Zeppelin’s biggest hits. Despite having two expert witnesses testify to the similarities shared by “Stairway” and “Taurus,” however, Mr. Skidmore failed to prove his claims in court, Mr. Anderson wrote in Monday’s motion.

“Plaintiff has not presented admissible evidence of striking or substantial similarity between the 1967 ’Taurus’ musical composition and ’Stairway to Heaven,’ ” Led Zeppelin’s attorney wrote.

“Although the parties’ pre-trial filings identified what plaintiff Michael Skidmore needed to prove to establish his claims, Skidmore failed to prove required elements of his claims for direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement. Accordingly, judgment as a matter of law in defendants’ favor is appropriate. And if, for any reason, judgment is not entered on those claims, it is properly entered in defendants’ favor on Skidmore’s claims for actual damages and profits,” Mr. Anderson added.

If the motion for judgment is approved — a ruling that could come as early as Tuesday — then U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner may make a decision on his own without asking an eight-person jury to deliver the verdict.