On Nov. 10, America’s new favorite judge (sorry Judy), Judge Gail Standish dismissed a copyright case against Taylor Swift and her song, “Shake it Off,” in the greatest way possible. She acknowledged the complete ridiculousness of the lawsuit by using Taylor Swift’s own lyrics in her statement.
In case you missed it, last month, a songwriter named Jesse Braham filed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift on the grounds that her song “borrows heavily” from his 2013 song, “Haters Gonna Hate.” Despite the fact that the phrase “haters gonna hate” is more of a colloquial phrase than one worth copyrighting, Braham felt that T-Swift owed him $42 MILLION for it.
Our hero judge however, didn’t see it that way. ”At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court,” Standish wrote. “But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them.”
Judge Standish also wrote that Braham did not provide enough factual evidence to support that Taylor deliberately stole his lyrics. “The Complaint has a blank space — one that requires Braham to do more than write his name.”
Braham will be allowed to file a new lawsuit against Taylor if he has more evidence against her but for now, in the words of Judge Standish, the “defendants have shaken off this lawsuit.”