California Judge Dismisses Taylor Swift $42M “Copyright” Lawsuit

A California judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit against Taylor Swift that accused her of stealing another artist’s lyrics for her hit song “Shake It Off.”
United States District Court Judge Gail Standish laughingly quoted lyrics from other Swift songs as she tossed the lawsuit filed by musician Jessie Braham. He claimed that his song “Haters Gone Hate” had the same 22-word phrase that Swift used in her song. Braham said he copyrighted “Haters Gone Hate” in February 2013.
He claimed in the lawsuit that 92% of Taylor Swift’s song came from his song.
Swift’s song has the lyrics, “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” as well as “And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake.” It is included on her hit album “1989,” which she released in 2014.
Braham’s song has the lyrics “Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they’ll fake you everyday.”
In her dismissal, Judge Standish quoted Swift’s hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
“At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them.”
Braham filed the suit in federal court himself without an attorney. He also asked the court to waive various filing fees, saying he last had a job in 2006. He was seeking $42 million in damages from Taylor Swift and her record label, Sony. He also requested songwriter credit.
Judge Standish went on to write, “As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space — one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation … Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”
The judge ruled that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence in the case and that his allegations did not rise above a speculative level. He also has the opportunity to file a new complaint if his lawsuit deficiencies are corrected, the court said. Source: Warmjello.com