Judge quotes Taylor Swift songs when dismissing copyright case against the artist
Taylor Swift’s song authenticity was questioned this early October when R&B artist Jesse Braham claimed that she stole his lyrics and used them in her hit song “Shake It Off.”
In December of 2013, Braham released his song on YouTube called “Haters Gone Hate” featuring the lyrics:
Haters gone hate
Playas gone play
Watch out for them fakers
They’ll fake you everyday
Braham sued Swift, Sony and her record label for $42 million, claiming that 92 percent of “Shake It Off” came from his song. Other than the lyrics, the two songs share no similarities.
Braham filed his suit without a lawyer and it was said to be “partly handwritten, contained blank pages, and grammar errors and misspellings.” The judge commented on it saying it was “not professionally produced.”
The judge on the case was Judge Gail Standish, the US magistrate judge for Central District of California appointed earlier this year. Standish dismissed the case, ruling that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence that the song was in fact plagiarism of his.
In her official ruling, the judge indirectly quoted lyrics from Taylor Swift’s songs: “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
“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 in Part II, 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,” Standish said.
“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.”
Although the judge told Braham that he could re-submit his suit once he corrected the major deficiencies, it looks like the only place Braham will win this case is in his “Wildest Dreams.”