Taylor Swift shakes off another copyright lawsuit

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Taylor Swift of stealing lyrics for her song Shake it Off, ruling that the phrases in question were not sufficiently original to merit copyright protection.

To be protected, lyrics 'must be more creative than the lyrics at issue here,' judge says

Thomson Reuters Posted: Feb 14, 2018 12:06 PM EST | Last Updated: February 14, 2018

A judge has tossed a copyright suit accusing Taylor Swift of stealing lyrics for her chart-topping 2014 track Shake It Off. (Taylor Swift Vevo/YouTube)

A lawsuit accusing singerTaylor Swift of stealing lyrics for her song Shake It Offwasthrown out on Tuesday by a judge, who ruled the phrases inquestion were not sufficiently original to merit copyrightprotection.

Swift's 2014 song reached No. 1 on the pop charts and markedher evolution from country to pop music.

Two songwriters said in a copyright infringement lawsuitfiled in federal court in Los Angeles last year that Swift'ssong was based on the phrase "players, they gonna play, andhaters, they gonna hate," that they coined for a 2001 songPlayas Gon' Playby R&B girl group 3LW.

Swift's lyrics from the chorus of Shake It Offare, "theplayers gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."

Attorneys for Swift asked U.S. District Judge MichaelFitzgerald in January to dismiss the case.

"In order for such short phrases to be protected under theCopyright Act, they must be more creative than the lyrics atissue here," Fitzgerald ruled, according to court papers.

The songwriters who sued Swift Sean Hall and Nathan Butler did not allege Swift's song stole musical elements, the judgesaid, and phrases about players and haters existed in popculture before 2001.

Combining two truisms about playas and haters,both well-worn notions as of 2001, is simply not enough.- Judge Michael Fitzgerald

"In short, combining two truisms about playas and haters,both well-worn notions as of 2001, is simply not enough," thejudge said in his ruling.

The judge left the door open for Hall and Butler to file arevised lawsuit.

But Gerard Fox, the attorney for the two songwriters, saidhe had no intention to file an amended complaint and wouldinstead appeal Fitzgerald's ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Courtof Appeals.

Fitzgerald made a mistake by assessing the originality ofthe lyrics for himself, instead of relying on experts, Fox said.

"He cannot make himself an expert in the music industry, I'msorry it's actually embarrassing," Fox said.

A representative for Swift did not immediately return a callor email seeking comment.

Hall is a songwriter and producer for artists such as JustinBieber and Maroon 5, and Butler has worked with artists such asBackstreet Boys and Luther Vandross.

Swedish producer and songwriter Max Martin and Karl JohanSchuster, another Swede who is known professionally asShellback, are credited as co-writers, along with Swift, on Shake It Off.

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Taylor Swift shakes off another copyright lawsuit

To be protected, lyrics 'must be more creative than the lyrics at issue here,' judge says

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