Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:38am EDT by Reuters

A musical riff Led Zeppelin is accused of stealing from another band for its 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” was not unique, singer Robert Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page’s attorney said at a civil trial on Tuesday.

“No one owns common musical elements,” defense attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments for the copyright infringement trial in Los Angeles federal court.

The lawsuit, which alleges the British band stole the opening chords for “Stairway to Heaven” from the 1967 instrumental “Taurus” by the American band Spirit, was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit’s guitarist and the composer of “Taurus.”… read more here