Taylor Swift’s copyright lawsuit over her 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’ dismissed after 5 years

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

December 13, 2022 - 4:01 PM IST

Taylor Swift’s copyright lawsuit over her 2014 hit single ‘Shake It Off’ has been dismissed after mutual agreement, weeks before it was set to go to trial. According to Entertainment Weekly, a judge dismissed the case Monday, just weeks before it was set to go to trial, following a joint request by lawyers for Swift and for Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, the songwriters who had accused her of copyright infringement. A trial for the case had originally been scheduled to begin January 17.

Taylor Swift’s copyright lawsuit over her 2014 hit ‘Shake It Off’ dismissed after 5 years

As per the report, the court papers filed on Monday did not state if there was a settlement involved between the parties. The lawsuit was originally filed by Hall and Butler in 2017 claiming that the Grammy-winning singer infringed upon 3LW’s 2001 song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’. The 3LW song contains the lyrics “playas, they gonna play” and “haters, they gonna hate” while Taylor’s song goes by, “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”

However, Swift sternly denied the allegations and said the lyrics “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate” were common phrases “uttered countless times.” According to the paperwork filed by the singer in the court, Swift stated that she has never heard the song she is being accused of copying. Moreover, she also reiterated that she herself wrote the lyrics of the song in question. "The lyrics to ‘Shake It Off’ were written entirely by me," Swift claimed in her declaration. "Until learning of plaintiff’s claim in 2017, I had never heard of the song ‘Play’s Gon’ Play’ and had never heard of that song or group 3LW."

In one of the court documents, Swift's attorneys had also argued that allowing the case to proceed would represent an "unprecedented" decision, noting that "plaintiffs admitted, and it is undisputed, that the phrases 'players gonna play' and 'haters gonna hate' are unprotected and in the public domain," and unless the case is dismissed, "plaintiffs could sue everyone who writes, sings, or publicly says 'players gonna play' and 'haters gonna hate,'" and "to permit that is unprecedented and 'cheat[s] the public domain.'"

Meanwhile, Swift will embark on the upcoming sixth headlining concert tour “Eras” in support of all of her albums, including her latest, Midnights.

Also Read: Taylor Swift to make feature directorial debut with Searchlight Pictures