It's been four years since Taylor Swift faced an issue regarding her song "Shake It Off," and it appears that the lawsuit has now been settled in a shocking turn of events; what happened?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sean Hall and Nathan Butler filed the copyright lawsuit in 2018, claiming that the pop star stole their lyrics from 3LW's 2001 track "Playas Gon' Play."
"Playas, they gonna play / And haters, they gonna hate," the original lyrics read, while the "Maroon" hitmaker's track appeared to have almost the same words as her 2014 song, "players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."
The dispute lasted for over five years and was supposedly set to have a trial next month, but in a surprising move, a federal judge has officially dismissed the case after both parties agreed to resolve the issue in a settlement.
As of this writing, the terms of the deal have not been publicized.
There are several notable issues regarding the lawsuit as U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald questioned whether the original lyrics from the 2001 song are under federal copyright law.
He noted that the lines are "short phrases that lack the modicum of originality and creativity," and it is a requirement for them to allege copyright infringement.
The District Judge added that around the early 2000s, pop culture in America heavily relied on the concept of "players, haters, and player haters."
With that being said, the lyrics must be "more creative" instead of being short phrases for it to be protected under the Copyright Act.
"Because the absence of originality is not established either on the face of the complaint or through the judicially noticed matters, we reverse the district court's dismissal," he added. (via Refinery29)
A legal representative for Hall and Butler has yet to issue a statement regarding the settlement.
Taylor Swift Updates
The recent news comes amid Ticketmaster reaching out to some lucky Swifties after most of them weren't able to secure tickets last month following the ticket selling fiasco.
Selected Swifties reportedly received an e-mail, telling them they have a chance to purchase tickets under the "Verified Fan" program.
In the e-mail, the ticket-selling platform apologized to fans for the mishap that happened on November 15, before revealing that the "Snow On The Beach" hitmaker's team is the reason why all of this is possible.
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