Mert & MarcusTaylor Swift emerged triumphant in a recent case against two songwriters who claimed unsuccessfully that she ripped off one of their songs. Now, she wants them to play her legal bill.
As previously reported, the songwriters, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler, tried to claim that Taylor’s #1 hit “Shake It Off” was stolen from their 2001 song, “Playas Gon’ Play,” recorded by 3LW. Hall and Butler claimed “Shake It Off” ripped off their lyrics “players, they gonna play, and haters, they gonna hate.” But a judge ruled in Taylor’s favor, declaring, “In order for such short phrases to be protected under the Copyright Act, they must be more creative than the lyrics at issue here.”
Now, in legal documents filed March 16 and obtained by The Blast, Taylor’s attorney is asking that the two compensate her for more than $72,000 in legal fees she spent to defend herself in the suit, which she won. The motion has not yet been ruled on.
The attorney also says before Hall and Butler sued, they demanded $30 million. According to the documents, Taylor’s team felt the claim was frivolous and warned the two not to sue, saying they had no case.
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