A relatively unknown musician named Jessie Braham tried to sue Taylor Swift for $42 million, accusing her of plagiarizing one of his songs. The lawsuit claims that her hit song, Shake It Off, is too similar to his song, Haters Gonna Hate, which he released in 2013. Let’s compare the lyrics:
Taylor’s song:“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play. And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate….And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake.”
Jessie Braham’s song: “Haters gone hate, playas gone play. Watch out for them fakers, they’ll fake you everyday.”
Admittedly, Taylor’s lyrics are not unique as it’s meant to be a fun pop song. I think it’s safe to assume that Taylor never heard his song before writing hers. The phrases “haters gonna hate” and “playas gonna play” have been around so long that even suburban moms are saying it. Anyone remember the 3LW song, Playas Gon’ Play, from the year 2000(!)? Playas, they gonna play. And haters, they gonna hate. Ballers, they gonna ball. Shot callers, they gonna call. Jessie Braham, maybe you have some explaining to do?!
Thankfully, the judge dismissed the ridiculous case and did it in an amazing way– by using Taylor’s own lyrics.
Boom.
Intellectual property issues are an interesting topic of discussion with libertarians. Some liberty-minded individuals are pro-intellectual property laws, believing that they protect inventors and encourage creativity. While others believe that intellectual property laws discourage innovation and competition. What do you think?