A lawsuit filed against Led Zeppelin for alleged plagiarism in the iconic rock song “Stairway to Heaven” has moved forward, after a move for dismissal on Zeppelin’s part was denied.
The case argues that the band ripped the song off from Randy Craig Wolfe, aka Randy California, founding member of Spirit. Wolfe’s heirs have decided to sue for credit and royalties.
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As the paintiff’s complaint reads,
“What happened to Randy California and Spirit is wrong. Led Zeppelin needs to do the right thing and give credit where credit is due. Randy California deserves writing credit for ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and to take his place as an author of Rock’s greatest song.”
To which the memorandum for dismissal replied,
“The individual defendants are British citizens residing in England, own no property in Pennsylvania and have no contacts with Pennsylvania, let alone ties sufficient to render them essentially at home here.”
U.S. District Court Judge Juan Sanchez denied the motion to dismiss.