Led Zeppelin Win in ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case Affirmed

A jury correctly found that the opening guitar riff in Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” doesn’t infringe another band’s copyright, the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

• Jury properly considered deposit copy of Spirit’s “Taurus” in finding “Stairway” didn’t infringe.
• Court explicitly rejects “inverse ratio rule” for copyright infringement, where more evidence of access requires less evidence of similarity.
• District court didn’t have to play sound recordings of songs.