Sean Hall v. Taylor Swift 9th Circuit Reversal and Remand
By Shanti Sadtler Conway
The Ninth Circuit recently amended its order in the Sean Hall v. Taylor Swift case, which had accused Swift's song "Shake It Off" of infringing a six-word phrase and four-part lyrical sequence from Hall's "Playas Gon' Play" song. The district court had dismissed the Complaint based on a lack of originality. On October 28, 2019, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded. The Ninth Circuit's decision included certain paragraphs, which were controversial, as some thought this would make it harder for the defendants to win 12(b)(6) motions. The court has now amended the order to delete those paragraphs. The original October 28th order, and the amended December 5th order are attached.