After a day of deliberation following five days of testimony, an eight person California jury ruled that there was no copyright infringement and that Led Zeppelin had not plagiarized the opening of their opus “Stairway to Heaven”
At the heart of the case was the 1968 Spirit song “Taurus” composed by Randy “California” Wolfe. His former bandmate Jay Ferguson (remember “Thunder Island”?) testified that Spirit played alongside Led Zeppelin at concerts in 1968 and were exposed to the song then. The lead attorney representing Wolfe’s estate claimed damages between $3 million and $13.5 million and that Spirit should receive a third of credit for Led Zeppelin’s signature song.
Zep attorney Peter Anderson successfully claimed that “Taurus” isn’t even owned by Spirit, but, in fact, by Hollenbeck Music and that the chord progression is a common one and that any similarities are coincidental.
So how much has Page/Plant made from the song? Since 2011, Jimmy Page has earned $615,000 and Robert Plant $532,000. That is the five year window from which damages could have been awarded.
Says Spirit attorney Francis Malofiy, “”We feel justice wasn’t served. [The] jury never got to hear the real evidence in this case and that’s real frustrating.”