Stairway To Heaven Copyright Infringement Survives Dismissal, Transferred From Philly To Calif.

Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin,  14-cv-03089 (E.D. Pa. filed 05/06/15) [Doc. 54].

Plaintiff alleged Led Zeppelin copied significant portions of its iconic 1971 song “Stairway to Heaven” from plaintiff's copyrighted guitar composition “Taurus,” and that all of the Defendants (the band members, publisher and label) have exploited and continue to exploit “Taurus” as “Stairway to Heaven.”  Plaintiff sued all Defendants for direct, contributory, and vicarious copyright infringement and also brought a claim for equitable relief in the form of an order directing Defendants and the Copyright Office to include Plaintiff as a writer of “Stairway to Heaven."  Defendants moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and improper venue.

The Court found the individual Defendants (band members) were not subject to either general or specific jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, where the case was filed.  Notably, because there is a three-year statute of limitations for copyright claims, the Court found that contacts with Pennsylvania in the 1980s and 1990s were not relevant to the Court's analysis.  These Defendants, however, consented to personal jurisdiction and venue in the Central District of California.  The Court found a transfer to California to be in the interests of justice.