A jury in the United States is to decide if the opening bars of Led Zeppelin's iconic rock song "Stairway To Heaven" were stolen. In an ongoing case, it has been reported that the band lifted the chords from a song called "Taurus" by the group Spirit.
U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner said in a court in Los Angeles that the Zeppelin song and the instrumentals heard in "Taurus" are similar. Klausner said it was up to a jury to decide if the legendary band were guilty of copyright infringement, CNN reported.
Led Zeppelin's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant are to stand trial for the copyright infringement case. If found guilty both Page and Plant will be liable for copyright infringement. The trial to hear the verdict has been set for next month.
According to the American news channel, the lawsuit was put forward by Michael Skidmore. He is a trustee of former Spirit's guitarist Randy Wolfe. Wolfe was also the composer of the song "Taurus."
"For example, the descending bass line in both 'Taurus' and 'Stairway to Heaven' appears at the beginning of both songs. It is arguably the most recognizable and important segments," Judge Klausner was quoted by the news channel as saying in court notes.
The lawsuit alleges Page may have been inspired to write "Stairway To Heaven" after hearing the song being performed at a musical festival in the United States at the time. The American news channel said both bands appeared at the festival prior to the release of the Zeppelin track.
Page had claimed in the court notes according to the news channel that he had never heard or attended a performance by the band Spirit. During proceedings, it was ruled that the trustee could be awarded only 50 percent of any damages owed to the writer.
"This case, from our perspective, has always been about giving credit where credit was due, and now we get to right that wrong," Francis Malofiy, a lawyer for Skidmore told The Guardian. A lawyer for Led Zeppelin did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the British publication.
The publication said the complainant had implied that Wolfe drew the similarities of the songs in an interview. However, Wolfe drowned in the Pacific seas in 1997 while attempting to rescue his son.
Watch a clip of the band performing "Stairway To Heaven" :