Michael Einhorn, an expert witness who specializes in intellectual property cases, said that the $42 million lawsuit filed against pop singer Taylor Swift by US R&B singer Jesse Braham for stealing the lyrics of his song is "going nowhere," CNN reports.
Braham's case doesn't stand a chance, Einhorn says, as Swift is allowed to use lyrics that might appear in other songs under copyright's "fair use."
The BBC News reports that Braham detailed in legal papers Swift copied the song he wrote in 2013 called Haters Gone Hate.
Braham, also known as Jesse Graham, says he owns the copyright to phrases "haters gone hate" and "playas gone play."
Braham sings in his song's chorus: "Haters gone hater, playas gone play/ Watch out for them fakers, they'll fake you everyday." Meanwhile, Taylor's song Shake It Off has a chorus of: "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/ And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." She sings another line: "And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake."
The similarity ends with the key words in the lyrics. Music-wise the two songs are vastly different from one another.
The reason for Braham's interest is due to the popularity of Shake It Off that topped the charts globally. The video 1.1 billion page views on YouTube. Braham on the other hand is an out-of-work musician.
The R&B singer claims that there is no way Swift could have penned the song without taking inspiration from his. "Her hook is the same hook as mine. If I didn't write the song Haters Gone Hate, there wouldn't be a song called Shake It Off," the 50-year-old said.
The musical unknown is also saying that Swift's song "is my song all the way," and has spoken to Swift's Big Machine label a handful of times, to no avail. Swift's legal counsel also have yet to make an official statement.
As recompense, the songwriter is asking that Swift should be named as a writer for the track, have a selfie with the pop star, and get monetary compensation. Reps for the star have replied his claims have no merit.
