The trial over whether Led Zeppelin stole the opening riff of Stairway to Heaven from a 1967 instrumental will be quick and focused and won't include testimony about the band's drinking and drug use, says a federal judge.
Each side will get 10 hours to argue its case before a Los Angeles jury next month. US District Judge Gary Klausner tentatively granted most requests by lawyers for band members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, as well as record labels, to exclude evidence they claim would be irrelevant or prejudicial.
Many of the proposed witnesses would be repetitive and unnecessary, the judge said, adding that his time restrictions would force the lawyers to present a clearer, more focused case to the jurors.
"If you use up your 10 hours, you're out - that's it," the judge said.
The case is scheduled for May 10. The copyright infringement lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, the administrator of the trust of the late Randy Wolfe. Wolfe, whose artist name was Randy California, wrote an instrumental track called Taurus that was recorded by his band Spirit in 1967. The lawsuit claims Page and Plant copied Taurus for the famous opening of Stairway to Heaven.
