A US copyright lawsuit claiming Taylor Swift stole lyrics from her hit song Shake It Off has been dismissed by a judge.
The case, brought to court by songwriters Sean Hall and Nate Butler, accuses the award-winning singer of pulling lyrics from their own Playas Gon’ Play track, written by the American woman The group 3LW sang.
Swift argued that she drew inspiration for the song from her own experiences and “common phrases and comments” she heard throughout her life, and that she wrote all the lyrics “totally” herself.
On Monday, Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed the lawsuit “entirely” with prejudice, meaning Mr Hall or Mr Butler could not reopen the lawsuit.
“This action is hereby dismissed, as provided by the parties, and Plaintiff and Defendant shall bear their respective attorneys’ fees and costs,” the filing reads.
The case, first filed in 2017, was due to go to trial on Jan. 17, a decision that came about a month ago.
Court documents did not detail whether a settlement was reached between Swift, Hall and Butler.
Taylor Swift performing Shake It Off in 2014
What did Taylor Swift say about the case?
Swift has previously said that she had “never heard” of the song Playas Gon’ Play or 3LW before the lawsuit.
“Getting out of it is about being independent and ‘shrugging off’ negative personal criticism through music and dance,” the 36-year-old said in a sworn statement.
“When writing the lyrics, I drew in part from my life experiences, especially the relentless public scrutiny of my personal life, ‘clickbait’ reporting, public manipulation, and other forms of negative personal criticism, which I learned I just needed to shake Shut down and focus on my music.
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“Before writing Shake It Off, I heard the phrase ‘players will play’ and ‘haters will hate’ countless times to convey the idea that one can or should shed negativity.”
getting rid of it, fast “The gamers will play, play, play, play, play, and the haters will hate, hate, hate, hate, hate,” sings.
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Playas Gon’ Play includes phrases like “players, they’ll play, and haters, they’ll hate”.
Hall and Butler had tried to argue that the combination of player and hater was unique in their songs.