In the latest tale of a pop star being accused of stealing music, a copyright infringement lawsuit against Taylor Swift was tossed out in the most spectacular fashion by a Los Angeles judge this week.
U.S. District Court Judge Gail Standish made it known that she most certainly knows her way around Swift’s songbook when she dismissed R&B singer Jesse Braham’s $42-million suit, which alleged Swift’s 2014 Grammy-nominated smash “Shake It Off” was lifted from his tune “Haters Gone Hate.”
SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter >>
“At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court,” wrote Standish, a UCLA Law School graduate who was selected several times as one of California’s top intellectual property litigators and top women litigators by the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals. In this case, Standish, who was appointed as a judge for the Central District of California in April 2015, seemed clearly inspired by Swift’s knack for biting breakup tunes. She continued, “But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them.”
Standish then cut deeper, all the while staying in tune in with Swift: “As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space — one that requires Braham to do more than write his name,” she wrote in a dismissal order that could merit its own Genius page for annotating its lyrical references. “And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation ... Braham may discover that mere pleading Band-Aids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”
Last month Braham filed the suit against the singer, alleging her catchy, simplistic chorus — “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate” — borrows closely from his own “Haters Gone Hate.”
“If I didn’t write the song ‘Haters Gone Hate,’ there wouldn’t be a song called ‘Shake It Off,’” he told the New York Daily News last month.
Before Braham filed suit, he said, he worked tirelessly to rectify his grievances with her team.
First he asked to be named as a writer on the Grammy-nominated track and when that was denied, he then asked if Swift would pose for a selfie because what better way to help your struggling career than having a photo with Swift on social media?
The court decided that the singer hadn’t provided enough factual evidence that Swift had ripped off his song even though he claimed that 92% of Swift’s hit came from his song.
“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate … And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake,” Swift sings while Braham’s hook is “Haters gone hate, playas gone play / Watch out for them fakers, they’ll fake you everyday.”
His case boiled down to the phrase “Hates gonna hate, players gonna play.” According to Braham there was “no way” she came up with those lyrics without hearing his song and that Swift was trolling him by releasing the song.
1/27
Taylor Swfit has risen from country singer/songwriter to pop princess. Here’s a look at her in concert.
(Jun Sato / Getty Images) 2/27
Taylor Swift took over the Staples Center before a sold-out crowd, performing hit after hit, with special guests who included L.A. Laker Kobe Bryant and “Orange Is the New Black’s” Uzo Aduba.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) 3/27
Taylor Swift adds sparkle to the stage as she performs at Louisiana State’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on May 22. She’s making the rounds with her 1989 World Tour.
(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for TAS) 4/27
Taylor Swift lifts her hand in the air at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 2015.
(Ross Gilmore / Getty Images for TAS) 5/27
Upon her arrival to Tokyo in May 2015, Taylor Swift literally stopped air traffic. Here, she busts a move onstage as part of her “1989” world tour at the Tokyo Dome.
(Jun Sato / Getty Images for TS) 6/27
At the iHeartRadio Music Awards in March 2015, Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance when she joined Madonna onstage for a performance of “Rebel Heart.” It was quite the collaboration.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images for iHeartMedia) 7/27
Taylor Swift strikes a pose amid a confetti rush during the Brit Awards in London in February 2015. (Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images)
8/27
Taylor Swift joined Kenney Chesney onstage during his Big Revival tour kick-off for a 55-show run. It was at this concert that Swift was spotted in the arms of musician Calvin Harris, sparking rumors the two were dating.
(Rick Diamond / Getty Images for Kenny Chesney) 9/27
Taylor Swift gets cute for the screaming fans in a stylish two-piece tartan plaid outfit for the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in December 2014 in New York. (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
10/27
Taylor Swift takes a moment to breathe during KIIS-FM’s Jingle Ball concert at Staples Center in Los Angeles in December 2014. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
11/27
Taylor Swift hits a high note at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in London. It was Swift’s second time performing at the lingerie extravaganza. (Joel Ryan / Invision / Associated Press)
12/27
For her second performance of the night at the 2014 Victoria’s Secret Fashion show, Taylor Swift changed into a black lace number. She jammed with the models, including Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio, pictured. (Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images)
13/27
Taylor Swift performs “Blank Space” at the American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles in November 2014. Swift took home the Dick Clark Award for Excellence. (Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
14/27
Taylor Swift belts out a tune onstage during the We Can Survive event at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2014. (Kevin Winter / Getty Images for CBS Radio Inc.)
15/27
Taylor Swift hits all the right notes onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2014. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
16/27
Taylor Swift performs a rendition of her hit single “Shake It Off” at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2014. (Matt Sayles / Invision / AP )
17/27
Taylor Swift delivers her song “All Too Well” while playing the piano at the Grammy Awards in January 2014. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
18/27
Taylor Swift strikes a pose during the first of four sold-out shows at the Staples Center in August 2013. (Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times)
19/27
Taylor Swift dons an outfit splattered with the British flag during the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory. (Jason Szenes / EPA)
20/27
Taylor Swift puts on a performance replete with circus-like shenanigans at the Grammy Awards in February 2013. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
21/27
Taylor Swift lifts her arms mid-performance at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, in December 2013. (Scott Barbour / Getty Images)
22/27
Joined by a bluegrass band, Taylor Swift sings her single “Mean” at the Grammy Awards in February 2012. She took home the awards for country song and country performance that year. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
23/27
Taylor Swift engages the camera-holding audience during the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in September 2012. (Kevin Mazur / WireImage / Getty Images)
24/27
Taylor Swift at KIIS’ Jingle Ball in December 2012. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
25/27
Taylor Swift shimmies in her frock at Staples Center in August 2011. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
26/27
Taylor Swift at Staples Center in April 2010. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
27/27
Taylor Swift at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “All for the Hall” concert benefit in September 2010. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Apparently the 50-year-old has lived unplugged from life considering we’ve been talking about players playing and haters hating for years. 3LW warned us back in 2000 that “them playas gon’ play, [and] them haters gon’ hate” in their hit (titled, you guessed it, “Playas Gon’ Play”).
Braham can file a new complaint — but if he’s smart he’d use these last five seconds of fame by thinking of his next publicity stunt. Because those will never, ever, ever go out of style.
For more music news follow me on Twitter: @gerrickkennedy
