From the work blog: Taylor Swift Sued for Allegedly Stealing Song Lyrics…And Why She’ll Win

*I blog for my law firm, and occasionally take some of the more interesting pieces to feature here.*

Taylor Swift on her 1989 Tour. Photo by GabboT used under the
 Creative Commons, Attribution Share Alike License.

Several media outlets report that Jesse Braham (real name Jesse Graham), an out of work and seemingly unknown musician, has filed a federal lawsuit Taylor Swift alleging that she stole the lyrics for her hit song “Shake It Off” from his song “Haters Gonna Hate.” In his complaint, Braham asserts “if Jessie Braham did not write the song ‘Haters Gone Hate,’ then Taylor Swift would not have written the song ‘Shake It Off.'”

Maybe it’s because I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, but I believe that’s a very bold statement for Mr. Braham to make.  Ms. Swift, while recycling heartbreak, her manic-pixie-dreamgirl persona, and those faces she makes whenever she wins an award, (you know it– the “I-can’t-believe-I-won-how-shocking!” look) probably didn’t need a huge deal of inspiration in rearranging five words to get her point across.  Our job as attorneys, however, isn’t to chatter about the original songwriting prowess of our favorite blonde twenty-something, but to break down the legal argument behind the claim.

The lyrics at the root of the claim are as follows:

Swift's version:

"'Cause the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / and the players gonna play, play, play, play, play" followed by "Heartbreakers gonna break break break break break/ and the fakers gonna fake fake fake fake fake."

Braham's version:

"Haters gone hate, playas gone play / watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday"

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