The copyright lawsuit against Taylor Swift was dismissed by United States Magistrate Judge Gail Standish in like the most totally awesomeness way possible, with lyrics from Swift’s most popular songs. Although the judge indicates that Braham may be able to redraft his complaint and file it in the future, she references Swift’s “ We Are Never Getting Back Together”, “Bad Blood” and of course “Shake It Off” to dismiss his suit in classic fashion.
“[T]he Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now we got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them.”
“Braham may discover that mere pleading Band-Aids will not fix the bullet holes in his case”
And finally…
“At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”
I love it!
For those who are not familiar with this story, Jesse Braham filed a federal lawsuit against Taylor Swift alleging that the pop stars’ hit “Shake It Off” was a rip off of his song “Haters Gone Hate”.
In addition to his failed pleading, Braham also fails to have a basic understanding of copyright law. He alleges that the “Shake It Off” hook is plagiarizes his song. He doesn’t know that copyright law does not protect short phrases. “Haters gonna hate” and “playas gonna play” are common phrases that are not reserved for Braham’s use.
Contact my office if you have questions regarding how copyrights affect your business.
~LaConya “Connie” Murray, Esq.
The Small Business Attorney
334-523-0022
