Taylor Swift Can’t Shake Off Copyright Suit Over Her 2014 Hit

Taylor Swift won’t escape so easily after all from allegations that her 2014 hit “Shake It Off” illegally copied the lyrics of “Playas Gon’ Play.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday overturned a judge’s ruling throwing out the copyright infringement lawsuit by the two songwriters of the 2001 track by female group 3LW.

Taylor Swift

Photographer: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for MTV

The appeals court disagreed with the judge’s conclusion that the lyrics of the 2001 song -- “playas, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate” -- weren’t original enough to be entitled copyright protection.

It wasn’t for the judge to decide the ...