Popular American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift will face trial for allegedly stealing lyrics from another song after she was dragged to court over copyright claims that she stole lyrics for her song.
A judge has ruled that the singer will now have to face a jury trial – which is where a group of people called a jury make a decision on a case – to decide whether Taylor’s use of the phrases breaks copyright laws.
In a decision issued on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald rejected Swift’s bid to throw out a suit that said she took wording from 2014 song “Playas Gon’ Play” by R&B girl group 3LW.
Fitzgerald said there were “some noticeable differences” between the songs but also “enough objective similarities” that the case should go to a jury trial.
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“Although Defendants have made a strong closing argument for a jury, they have not shown that there are no genuine issues of triable fact,” the judge wrote.
Taylor Swift allegedly stole lyrics for her hit song ‘Shake It Off and Playas Gon’ Play (a 2001 tune from the American girl band 3LW) both include the phrases “players gonna play” and “haters gonna hate.”
The writers of Playas Gon’ Play believe that Taylor Swift has copied the lyrics from them without permission.
