California judge throws out Jesse Graham’s $42m lawsuit that alleged the pop star stole his lyrics in a judgment that liberally quotes Swift’s songs 
 
 A California judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against Taylor Swift in a cheekily worded ruling that quotes lyrics from the pop star’s songs. 
 
 
 
 Earlier this month, R&B artist Jessie Braham, who records as Jesse Graham, issued a $42m lawsuit against Swift, accusing the singer of lifting his lyrics for her hit Shake It Off. Braham alleged that although Shake It Off bore no melodic resemblance to his song Haters Gone Hate, Swift took the distinctive lyrics from the chorus of his song, which appears on the album Sexy Ladies. 
 
 
 
 Graham sings: “Haters gonna hate/ Players gonna play/ Watch out for them fakers/ They’ll fake you every day.” Swift’s chorus runs: “’Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” 
 
 
 
 US district court judge Gail Standish took the opportunity to show off her knowledge of Swift’s repertoire. While throwing out the suit, Standish invoked lyrics from Swift’s other hits, including We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Blank Space and Bad Blood. 
 
 
 
 “At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them,” Standish wrote. 
 
 
 
 Standish ruled that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence and that his allegations did not go beyond a speculative level. 
 
 “As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space – one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation in Part II, Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case,” Standish wrote. 
 
 If Braham could fix the deficiencies of the lawsuit, he could file a new complaint, the court said. 
 
 Standish concluded: “At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.” ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Taylor Swift had been sued over her hit single Shake It Off 
 
 The phrase "haters gonna hate" is too "banal" to be copyrighted, a US judge has declared. 
 
 Judge Michael W Fitzgerald made the comments while dismissing a copyright case against Taylor Swift. 
 
 Songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler sued the star last year, arguing her single Shake It Off stole from their composition, Playas Gon' Play. 
 
 They said the chorus of her song relied on their lyric, "playas, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate". 
 
 Although short phrases are generally immune from copyright claims, the writers argued that combining the two thoughts was original enough to warrant protection. 
 
 Fitzgerald disagreed - in quite some style. 
 
 'Lacks the modicum of originality and creativity ' 
 
 "The lynchpin of this entire case is thus whether or not the lyrics 'Playas, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate' are eligible for protection," he wrote. 
 
 "In the early 2000s, popular culture was adequately suffused with the concepts of players and haters to render the phrases 'playas… gonna play' or 'haters… gonna hate', standing on their own, no more creative than 'runners gonna run'; 'drummers gonna drum'; or 'swimmers gonna swim.' 
 
 "The concept of actors acting in accordance with their essential nature is not at all creative; it is banal. 
 
 "The allegedly infringed lyrics are short phrases that lack the modicum of originality and creativity required for copyright protection," Fitzgerald added. 
 
 The judge also criticised the plaintiffs "clunky" legal arguments, before approving Swift's motion to dismiss the case. 
 
 "In sum, the lyrics at issue... are too brief, unoriginal, and uncreative to warrant protection under the Copyright Act," he wrote. 
 
 However, he offered Hall and Butler one last chance to amend their argument before the case is settled on 26 February, "just in case there are more similarities between Playas Gon' Play and Shake it Off than Plaintiffs have alleged thus far". 
 
 Playas Gon' Play was a minor hit for US girl band 3LW in 2001. Hall has subsequently written and produced for artists such as Justin Bieber and Maroon 5, while Butler has worked with artists including Backstreet Boys and Luther Vandross. 
 
 Their lawyer, Gerard Fox, said he would not file an amendment to the original complaint, but planned to appeal Judge Fitzgerald's ruling. 
 
 Fox said the judge should have found an expert to rule on the originality of the lyrics, rather than interpreting them himself. 
 
 "He cannot make himself an expert in the music industry," he said. "I'm sorry. it's actually embarrassing." 
 
 Taylor Swift will headline BBC Music's Biggest Weekend in May this year. 
 
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– If a judge is a big enough Taylor Swift fan to repeatedly quote her lyrics within a ruling, should they not be required to recuse themselves from any case involving the pop star? That's the legal conundrum we're left with after judge Gail Standish used references to at least four of Swift's hits to dismiss a plagiarism lawsuit brought against her by an R&B singer, the Guardian reports. Earlier this month, Jesse Graham—who says he hasn't had a job in nine years—sued Swift for $42 million and a songwriting credit, claiming she stole 92% of the lyrics to her hit Shake It Off from his song Haters Gone Hate, according to CNN. Graham says he copyrighted his song a year before Shake It Off was released. Shake It Off includes the lyrics "Cause the players gonna play; and the haters gonna hate," as well as "And the fakers gonna fake," the Guardian reports. Meanwhile, the chorus to Graham's song goes "Haters gone hate; players gone play; watch out for them fakers; they'll fake you everyday." Standish said the lawsuit was based on speculation and lacked enough evidence. In her ruling, she wrote: “At present, the Court is not saying that [Graham] can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure [Graham] can solve them." After further references to Swift's lyrics, Standish concludes: "At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”