Taylor Swift’s “Shake it off” Copyright Case Dismissed
A long-running copyright dispute between Taylor Swift and two songwriters who sued her for her song "Shake It Off" was resolved on Monday, December 12, 2022.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with this whole spectacle, let us give you a rundown.
The case, which focuses mostly on Swift's lyrics, was initially filed five years ago. It presented issues about music and its various components and how copyright may protect particular areas of the arts, leaving some traditional areas of black letter law, sort of gray.
The lawsuit was filed by Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, the songwriters behind “Playas Gon’ Play” by 3LW, a 2000 hip-hop/pop girl group. You remember the song... and the lawsuit was targeting, specifically, Swift and Max Martin, the writers behind “Shake it Off” - one of Swift’s more iconic songs.
Drum roll... five months after the case was filed, it was dismissed.
But, in 2019, justices on the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals found that the matter had been prematurely resolved and remanded it to the district court.
District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald declined to dismiss the case last week and mandated a jury trial to resolve the dispute. The allegedly infringing phrases were "players gonna play" and "haters gonna hate," both of which could be heard in 3LW's song "Playas Gon' Play" from 2001.
As the case wended through the courts, it became a focal point in the music industry’s ongoing debate over copyright and credit.
This sort of legal battle isn't a new thing either. Back in 2018, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay $5.3 Million to Marvin Gaye’s family for infringing on one of Gaye’s songs.
It’s cases like these that highlight the importance of copyright registration. One of the most important rights any artist has is the right to control their own work. This means that the artist can make sure that their art is not used without their permission, and they can also be financial compensated for subsequent use.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation to discuss how you can protect your original works.