#TaylorSwift has been involved in a legal battle with the songwriters of #3LW’s hit ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ since September as they alleged that the singer infringed upon a copyright of their lyrics for her song ‘Shake It Off.’ swift had filed for a motion to have the case dismissed citing that the songwriters were looking for a big payday.
Back in 2001, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler wrote the lyrics, “Playas, they gon’ play / And haters, they gonna hate,” while Swift sings “[T]he players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate” in her 2014 hit.
Unfortunately, the judge presiding over this case didn’t see any copyright infringement here and granted Swift a dismissal. Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald said, “The allegedly infringed lyrics are short phrases that lack the modicum of originality and creativity required for copyright protection.”
However, Hall and Butler have one more shot to amend their complaint by February 26th! “While the Court is extremely skeptical that Plaintiffs will — in a manner consistent with Rule 11 — be able to rehabilitate their copyright infringement claim in an amended complaint, out of an abundance of forbearance it will give Plaintiffs a single opportunity to try,” Fitzgerald said.
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Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/taylor-swift-shakes-copyright-lawsuit-1084373
