“The Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court”
A California judge has thrown out a plagiarism claim made against pop-royalty Taylor Swift in the best possible way — by using lyrics penned by the music star herself.
District Court Judge Gail Standish dismissed a claim filed by fellow musician Jessie Braham, who alleged that Swift’s 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’ used lyrics from his copyrighted song ‘Haters Gone Hate’.
Seeking $42 million in damages from Swift and her record label Sony, Braham claimed that 92% of Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ lyrics were lifted from his song, and that the 25-year-old popstar would never have written the bestselling track had he not written ‘Haters Gone Hate’.
But the judge was having none of it. Throwing the case out of court, Standish ruled that the claimant had not provided enough factual evidence to prove that his allegations were more than simple speculation.
In her dismissal, Standish gave a brilliant judgment jam-packed with some of Swift’s most recognisable lyrics. Referencing the star’s hit singles ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’, ‘Bad Blood’, ‘Blank Space’ and, the offending track itself, ‘Shake It Off’, Standish produced this epic paragraph:
Unlucky, Jessie Braham.
