(hennemusic) Lawyers for Robert Plant and Jimmy Page have confirmed the Led Zeppelin members will attend the upcoming trial to defend a copyright infringement lawsuit over the band's signature song, "Stairway To Heaven", when it starts on June 14.
The suit - brought by Randy California's estate and members of Spirit by trustee Michael Skidmore - claims the acoustic introduction to 1971's "Stairway" was lifted from their 1968 instrumental "Taurus."
The Wrap reports plaintiff's attorney Francis Malofiy brought a motion in a California federal court on May 17 requesting U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner to order the Page and Plant to attend the proceedings to testify or risk a penalty of default, with the jury to be instructed to draw a negative inference from their failure to appear. Malofiy claims the pair's "refusal to specify if they will appear is causing havoc."
"Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, with the aid of defense counsel, want to dictate the court's schedule," the filing reads. "The lack of common courtesy from defense counsel is, frankly, astonishing. Defendants are acting as if this is a concert where their celebrity status allows them to decide when they will appear."
However, Led Zeppelin's attorneys confirmed the pair would be on site for the proceedings in an email sent to Malofiy on May 6, writing "We have previously made it clear that Messrs. Page and Plant will attend the trial, but with them coming from England we cannot guarantee the day they will arrive." Read more and listen to both songs here.
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