Pick a Day

Featured Timeline : Landmark Legal Cases

June 23, 2016 After a trial in which the three living members of Led Zeppelin testified, a jury rules that they are not guilty of plagiarizing the intro of "Stairway To Heaven" from the 1968 song "Taurus" by the band Spirit.

September 22, 2015 The "Happy Birthday" copyright is ruled invalid, sending the song into the public domain.More

March 10, 2015 A jury awards Marvin Gaye's estate (his children Marvin III, Frankie and Nona) $7.3 million, finding that the Robin Thicke song "Blurred Lines" is too similar to Gaye's 1977 hit "Got To Give It Up."More

June 28, 2010 Jake Holmes finally gets around to suing Led Zeppelin for plagiarizing his 1967 song "Dazed And Confused." Led Zeppelin released a very similar song with the same title on their 1969 debut album, but Holmes waited decades to take legal action. The case is eventually settled, with the writing credit on the song changed to "Jimmy Page, Inspired By Jake Holmes."

June 18, 2009 Jammie Thomas-Rasset, a 32-year-old woman from Minnesota, is found guilty of illegal sharing of music files via the Internet and is ordered to pay $1.92 million, $80,000 per song.More

October 17, 2002 The Ronettes lose their case against Phil Spector, claiming they are owed royalties for songs used in movies, TV shows and commercials.More

June 21, 1994 A judge rules against George Michael in his lawsuit against his record label, Sony, derailing his music career for two years.More

April 25, 1994 A jury rules that Michael Bolton's 1991 hit "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarizes The Isley Brothers 1966 song of the same name and awards $5.4 million in damages, the largest ever in a music plagiarism case.More

March 26, 1987 Nike begins airing a commercial using the Beatles song "Revolution," marking the first time an original version of a Beatles song is used in an ad.More

August 31, 1976 George Harrison is found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" in a bizarre lawsuit that leaves songwriters baffled.More