Stairway to Heaven Lawsuit: How Led Zeppelin Beat the Taurus Claim
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The Stairway to Heaven lawsuit is over. The trustee for Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe claimed the opening of the 1971 song copied Wolfe’s instrumental Taurus. A Los Angeles jury found for Led Zeppelin on June 23, 2016, the full Ninth Circuit affirmed on March 9, 2020, and the Supreme Court declined to hear it on October 5, 2020. It was a single copyright suit, not a class action — there is no settlement, no fund and nothing for fans or listeners to claim.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Lawsuit Claimed
Randy Wolfe, known as Randy California, wrote the instrumental Taurus for his band Spirit in 1966 or 1967. His publisher registered it in December 1967 as an unpublished composition by depositing one page of sheet music with the Copyright Office. Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven, written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, on its fourth album in late 1971.
Wolfe died in 1997 and never sued. In May 2014 Michael Skidmore, co-trustee of the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, filed suit alleging that the famous acoustic opening of Stairway infringed Taurus. He pleaded direct, contributory and vicarious infringement, plus an equitable claim he titled “Falsification of Rock n’ Roll History.” The bands had played the same venues in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which was the basis for the access argument.
Case Details
The case was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, where it became Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin, No. 2:15-cv-03462-RGK-AGR, before Judge R. Gary Klausner. Defendants included Led Zeppelin, Page, Plant, John Paul Jones, Super Hype Publishing, Warner Music Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Atlantic Recording and Rhino Entertainment.
The appeals were Ninth Circuit Nos. 16-56057 and 16-56287. The en banc decision, filed March 9, 2020, is published on the Ninth Circuit’s site. The Supreme Court petition was No. 20-142 (docket).
Status: Final Judgment for Led Zeppelin
Why it still gets searched: the en banc court rewrote two rules every music copyright case in the Ninth Circuit now follows. It held that for songs under the 1909 Copyright Act, the protected work is the deposit copy — the sheet music on file — not a later recording. And it abolished the inverse ratio rule, which had let strong proof of access lower the bar for proving similarity.
Is Anyone Owed Money?
No. This was not a class action, so there is no class to belong to. The only plaintiff was the Wolfe trust, and it lost. Buying, streaming or covering Stairway to Heaven never made anyone a party to the case.
The jury did find two things in the trust’s favor: that it owned the Taurus copyright, and that Led Zeppelin had access to the song. It lost on the third element — the jury found the two works not substantially similar under the extrinsic test, which compares protectable musical elements rather than overall feel.
What Was at Stake, and What Was Paid
For contrast, the Blurred Lines lawsuit ended in a multimillion-dollar verdict for the plaintiffs, which is why the Zeppelin outcome was read as a correction. The Ed Sheeran lawsuit covers another fight over how much of a song’s building blocks one writer can own.
Stairway to Heaven Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
1967–1971 — Two Songs
Taurus is registered in December 1967 with one page of sheet music. Stairway to Heaven appears on Led Zeppelin’s fourth album in late 1971.
- 2
May 2014 — The Trust Sues
Trustee Michael Skidmore files in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; the case is moved to the Central District of California as No. 2:15-cv-03462.
- 3
June 23, 2016 — Jury Finds for Led Zeppelin
After a weeklong trial before Judge R. Gary Klausner and less than six hours of deliberation, the jury finds access but no substantial similarity.
- 4
September 28, 2018 — Panel Orders a New Trial
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel vacates the judgment in part over jury instructions. The court then grants rehearing en banc, wiping that ruling out.
- 5
March 9, 2020 — En Banc Court Affirms
The full Ninth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge McKeown, affirms the verdict, confirms the deposit-copy rule and abolishes the inverse ratio rule.
- 6
October 5, 2020 — Supreme Court Declines
The Supreme Court denies certiorari in No. 20-142 and denies rehearing on December 7, 2020. The judgment is final.
Three Things to Watch For
A famous case with no payout still attracts people selling one:
“Stairway to Heaven settlement” claim pages
There was never a settlement or a class. Any site asking for your details or a fee to “claim royalties” from the Led Zeppelin case is collecting data, not filing anything.
Copyright “demand letters” for playing the song
Musicians who post covers sometimes get emails threatening suit and demanding payment, citing this case. The case was about songwriters’ rights, and the songwriter side lost — check who actually holds the rights before paying anyone.
“Rejoin the appeal” investment pitches
Litigation-funding offers claiming the Taurus case can be revived are selling something that does not exist. The Supreme Court denied review and rehearing in 2020; there is no live appeal to invest in.
Stairway to Heaven Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Did Led Zeppelin steal Stairway to Heaven?
Not legally. A jury found on June 23, 2016 that Stairway to Heaven is not substantially similar to the protected parts of Taurus, and the full Ninth Circuit affirmed on March 9, 2020. The jury did find Led Zeppelin had access to Taurus — but access alone is not infringement.
Who sued, and who were the defendants?
Michael Skidmore, as trustee of the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, sued Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, Super Hype Publishing and several Warner Music companies. Randy Wolfe himself died in 1997 without suing.
What part of the song was in dispute?
Only the opening. Taurus contains five descending notes of a chromatic scale; Stairway to Heaven opens with a descending chromatic minor chord progression in A minor — an arpeggiated pattern over a falling bass line that, the defense argued, is common property. The defense showed that pattern long predates both songs, from Purcell’s Dido’s Lament to the Beatles’ Michelle.
Why didn’t the jury hear the original recordings?
Because Taurus was registered under the 1909 Copyright Act, which does not protect sound recordings. The en banc court held that the protected work is the deposit copy — one page of sheet music — so recordings with later embellishments could not be used to compare the songs.
What is the inverse ratio rule, and why did it matter?
It was a Ninth Circuit doctrine that the more access a plaintiff proves, the less similarity they need to show. The trust wanted that instruction. In 2020 the en banc court said the rule “defies logic” and abolished it, joining most other federal circuits.
Did the Supreme Court rule on the case?
No. It declined to hear it. The petition, No. 20-142, was denied on October 5, 2020, and a petition for rehearing was denied on December 7, 2020. Declining review leaves the Ninth Circuit decision in place.
Is there any money or settlement for fans?
No. It was an individual copyright suit by one trust, not a class action. It ended in a judgment for the defendants, with no damages and no settlement. There is nothing to claim.
Can the case be reopened?
Not in any ordinary way. After the en banc ruling and the Supreme Court’s denials of review and rehearing, the judgment is final. The legal rules it set — deposit copy and no inverse ratio rule — remain binding precedent in the Ninth Circuit.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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