Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' lawsuit has been dismissed

The US copyright lawsuit that alleged Taylor Swift’s hit 'Shake It Off' consisted of stolen lyrics has been dismissed by a judge before it was set to go to trial on 17th January.

The case, which was brought forth by songwriters Sean Hall and Nate Butler in 2017, claimed that Swift took lyrics from their song, 'Playas Gon' Play,' performed by US girl group 3LW.  The songwriters' 'Playas Gon' Play,' was originally released in 2000.

The Grammy-award winner pop singer has maintained that her song was written "entirely by me,” and its lyrics were inspired by her personal experiences and "commonly used phrases and comments."

"Prior to writing 'Shake It Off' I had heard the phrases ‘players gonna play’ and ‘haters gonna hate’ uttered countless times to express the idea that one can or should shrug off negativity,” Swift explained.

Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed the case in its entirety on Monday, 12th December.

The filing stated: "Pursuant to the parties’ Stipulation, this action is hereby dismissed, in its entirety and with prejudice, Plaintiffs and Defendants to bear their respective attorney’s fees and costs.”

Prior to its dismissal, the 33-year old pop singer has stated that she had never heard of ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ or the group 3LW.

"Until learning about Plaintiffs’ claim in 2017, I had never heard the song Playas Gon’ Play and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW," the pop singer stated.

Swift’s hit, she has stated, is about “independence”, and “shaking off” any negative or personal criticism.