Taylor Swift shakes off another lawsuit

Taylor Swift is not shy when it comes to a lawsuit, having been embroiled in many herself over the years she is accustom to battling it out in the Courts.

This week, it emerged that Swift has successfully defended herself in a copyright claim brought against her by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler. The two accused Swift of having copied the lyrics from their song, "Playas Gon' Play", written for American girl band 3LW.

The songwriters claim was based on their lyrics, "playas, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate", which they alleged were copied by Swift in the chorus of her "Shake It Off" single which includes the line, "Cos the players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate".

The songwriters argued that the combination of the two ideas in their lyrics was enough to establish originality and thus copyright protection however Judge Michael W Fitzgerald looked at the claim at a different angle and ultimately sided with Swift. In his judgement he explained, "the concept of actors acting in accordance with their essential nature is not at all creative; it is banal". He further explained that the lyrics lacked the originality and creativity required for copyright protection.

Despite Judge Fitzgerald's comments, he has provided the Claimants with the opportunity to file a revised complaint by the 26 February. The lawyer for Hall and Butler has stated that he will not be filing an amended complaint but will be appealing the ruling altogether.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.