FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, members of Led Zeppelin, guitarist Jimmy Page, left, and singer Robert Plant appear at a press conference ahead of the worldwide theatrical release of "Celebration... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, members of Led Zeppelin, guitarist Jimmy Page, left, and singer Robert Plant appear at a press conference ahead of the worldwide theatrical release of "Celebration... (Associated Press) 
 
 LOS ANGELES (AP) — A trial is needed to determine if Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" copies its opening notes from a song performed by the rock band Spirit, a federal judge has ruled. 
 
 U.S District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled Friday that lawyers for the trustee of late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe had shown enough evidence to support a case that "Stairway to Heaven" copies music from the Spirit song "Taurus." 
 
 "Taurus" was written by Wolfe in either 1966 or 1967, years before Led Zeppelin released "Stairway to Heaven" in 1971. Klausner wrote that while the songs have some differences, lawyers for Wolfe's trustee may be able to prove they are substantially similar. 
 
 Led Zeppelin and Spirit performed at some concerts and festivals around the same time, but not on the same stage. Klausner wrote that the evidence presented so far represented a circumstantial case that Led Zeppelin may have heard "Taurus" performed before "Stairway to Heaven" was created. 
 
 After-hours phone and email messages sent to Helene M. Freeman, Led Zeppelin's attorney, were not immediately returned. Experts hired by the band contend both "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taurus" use notes that have been used in music for centuries. 
 
 Francis Alexander Malofiy, attorney for Wolfe's trustee Michael Skidmore, praised the ruling. He said while many copyright cases are an uphill battle, Klausner's ruling brings his client one step closer to getting Wolfe credit for helping create one of the most recognizable song introductions in rock history. 
 
 Skidmore was able to overcome statute-of-limitations hurdles to sue over "Stairway to Heaven" because the song was remastered and re-released in 2014. 
 
 A jury trial is scheduled for May 10 in Los Angeles. Klausner's ruling removed Zeppelin band member John Paul Jones from the case. Bandmates Robert Plant and Jimmy Page remain defendants in the case. 
 
 A trial would represent the third time in recent months that a Los Angeles federal jury has heard a copyright-infringement case involving a hit song. In March 2015, a jury found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied a Marvin Gaye song to create their 2013 hit, "Blurred Lines" and awarded Gaye's children $7.4 million. A judge trimmed the award, and the verdict is under appeal. 
 
 Later in the year, another jury was empaneled to determine whether the Jay-Z hit "Big Pimpin'" copied the work of an Egyptian composer, but a judge ruled in the rapper's favor before deliberations began. 
 
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 songs Songs That Were Total Ripoffs f p @ Mike Rothschild 209 votes 56 voters 59k views 34 items Follow List Rules Listen to both songs and vote up the ones you think may be too close to the original. 
 
 Music plagiarism is big news in almost any era. Sure, Robin Thicke and Pharrell had to shell out $7 million to Marvin Gaye's estate for their "Blurred Lines" infringement and there was the whole Tom Petty/Sam Smith debacle in recent music history, but singers have been ripping off other people's songs since recorded music first came on the scene, and even before that. What are the most blatant ripoff songs, which obviously stole music, lyrics, or both from other tracks? 
 
 
 
 Chances are, your favorite band has either intentionally or purposefully stolen someone else's lyrics or melody - and probably had it done to them as well. While some plagiarism cases are extremely well known (George Harrison stealing the melody of "He's So Fine," or John Fogerty being sued for plagiarizing himself, for example) there are almost limitless examples of songs being plagiarized. Some were successful, others got slapped down with huge judgements. 
 
 
 
 These blatant cases of musical plagiarism cross genres, decades, and styles, showing that musicians stealing from each other is no rarity. Is your favorite song a rip off of another famous musician? Find out in the list below! 
 
 
 
 1 + - 36 2 "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice vs. "Under Pressure" by Queen 
 
 Perhaps the most blatant ripoff on this list, Vanilla Ice was sued by Queen and David Bowie for stealing their riff from "Under Pressure" in his 1989 hit "Ice Ice Baby." Although Vanilla Ice's song was the first hip-hop song to top the Billboard charts, the legacy of the song is tarnished by the stolen sample. All four members of Queen and David Bowie were later credited for the riff, and were compensated with both money and a writing credit for the song. 
 
 
 
 Here's "Ice Ice Baby": 
 
 And now listen to "Under Pressure"; you'll have no trouble spotting the similarities: ﻿ 18 Times Taylor Swift Was Totally Country 
 
 2 + - 16 1 "Live While We're Young" by One Direction vs. "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by The Clash 
 
 Another "homage" to classic rock by One Direction, "Live While We're Young" steals the iconic opening chords to The Clash's classic "Should I Stay Or Should I Go." Like the band's earlier pilfering of "Baba O'Riley," it serves to draw the ear of older listeners while not being extensive enough to merit a plagiarism claim. Well played, boys. Well played. 
 
 
 
 Here's "Live While We're Young": And The Clash performing "Should I Stay or Should I Go": 
 
 3 + - 14 1 "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zeppelin vs. "Dazed and Confused" by Jake Holmes 
 
 One could write an entire list just of Led Zeppelin's alleged and confirmed thefts. But maybe the most blatant was in the case of "Dazed and Confused." As the story goes, folk singer Jake Holmes wrote the song in 1967, whereby it was soon covered by The Yardbirds, for whom Holmes was opening. The Yardbirds, in their death throes, at that time featured future Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. 
 
 
 
 Page liked the song so much he brought it to the sessions for Led Zeppelin's first album - albeit with new lyrics (based, in turn, on a different set of lyrics for the song, written by The Yardbirds singer Keith Relf) and a slightly altered melody. The song's arrangement remained the same. Page credited himself as the song's sole writer, and blew Holmes off when Holmes attempted to contact him a few years later. In essence, Page had stolen a hit song and ensured the original writer wouldn't get a nickel out of it. 
 
 
 
 Finally, in 2010, Jake Holmes sued Jimmy Page, with the two parties settling out of court. Even now, the song is credited only to Page, with "inspiration" by Holmes. 
 
 
 
 Here's the Zeppelin version: 
 
 And here's Holmes's original: The Easiest Language to Learn
– A trial is needed to determine if Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" copies its opening notes from a song performed by the rock band Spirit, a federal judge has ruled. US District Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled Friday that lawyers for the trustee of late Spirit guitarist Randy Wolfe had shown enough evidence to support a case that "Stairway to Heaven" copies music from the Spirit song "Taurus." "Taurus" was written by Wolfe in either 1966 or 1967, years before Led Zeppelin released "Stairway to Heaven" in 1971. Klausner wrote that while the songs have some differences, lawyers for Wolfe's trustee may be able to prove they are substantially similar, reports the AP. Led Zeppelin and Spirit performed at some concerts and festivals around the same time, but not on the same stage. Klausner wrote that the evidence presented so far represented a circumstantial case that Led Zeppelin may have heard "Taurus" performed before "Stairway to Heaven" was created. Experts hired by Led Zeppelin contend both songs use notes that have been used in music for centuries. The attorney for Wolfe's trustee, Michael Skidmore, praised the ruling, saying it brings his client one step closer to getting Wolfe credit for helping create one of the most recognizable song introductions in rock history. Skidmore was able to overcome statutes of limitations because "Stairway to Heaven" was remastered and re-released in 2014. A jury trial is set for May 10 in Los Angeles. (Click for 30 songs that are probably rip-offs.)