- Music
- 21 Jun 16
The band's attorneys say no substantial evidence has been brought forward.
Lawyers representing Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have asked the judge to halt proceedings in the band's 'Stairway To Heaven' copyright trial. Their lawyers argue that the prosecuting lawyer for Michael Skidmore has not shown substantial burden of proof in three days of testimony.
In US law the burden of proof is seen as the most important rule of evidence in civil cases. Here the plaintiff, in this case the lawyer representing Randy Wolfe estate trustee Michael Skidmore, must show in his testimony that there is sufficient evidence for the trial to continue. Lawyers for Page, Plant and Warner Music claim he has failed to do this.
Michael Skidmore is an estate trustee for the deceased songwriter of 1960's band Spirit, Randy Wolfe. Skidmore alleges that Jimmy Page lifted the opening guitar riff for Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' from Spirit's instrumental 'Tauros'. "Although the parties' pre-trial filings identified what plaintiff Michael Skidmore needed to prove to establish his claims, Skidmore failed to prove required elements of his claims for direct, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement," said Zeppelin's attorney Peter J. Anderson.
Previously in the trial prosecutors for Skidmore have attempted to prove that Page had heard the song 'Tauros' in 1968 prior to writing 'Stairway To Heaven' in 1971. Page has refuted these claims despite Zeppelin playing at the same show as Spirit in the late 1960's.
Judge Gary Klausner will resume the trial in Los Angeles today when representatives for Led Zeppelin will begin defence proceedings. Zeppelin argue that all of Skidmore's witnesses including Wolfe's sister, former Spirit bassist Mark Andes and a friend of Skidmore have not said in their evidence that they actually saw any members of Led Zeppelin at a Spirit concert where 'Taurus' was performed. They also argue that "while – nearly a half century later – Mr. Page found Spirit’s first album in his collection of 4,329 albums and 5,882 CDs, there is no evidence he had the album 45 years ago."