As Rolling Stone recounts, in 2014, Led Zeppelin was accused of ripping off a song called “Taurus.” Written by late guitarist late guitarist Randy Wolfe, “Taurus” appeared on the 1968 debut album of his band, Spirit. An attorney for the guitarist’s estate, which was represented by British former music journalist Michael Skidmore, alleged that Led Zeppelin ripped off Wolfe’s intro. But the band called bull on the “Taurus” claim.

Rolling Stone writes that things got “colorful” in court, but team “Taurus” mostly seemed to see red. Skidmore’s lawyer “carried a briefcase that resembled a Fender amp” and attempted to play videos that had already been ruled inadmissible. The jury was legally barred from listening to the original tracks for “Stairway to Heaven” and “Taurus,” leaving it up to a music expert to analyze the sheet music. In 2016, the jurors decided in Led Zeppelin’s favor, but in 2018, a circuit court ordered a new trial, citing “erroneous jury instructions.”

Jurors had been told to disregard the so-called “inverse ratio rule,” which states that if a plaintiff can establish that the defendant had “a high degree of access to a certain work,” it lowers the burden of proof in copyright infringement claims. However, in 2020, Judge R. Gary R. Gary Klausner hammered the standard, arguing that the rule “defies logic, and creates uncertainty for the courts and the parties.” Once again Led Zeppelin was victorious, and thanks to “Stairway to Heaven,” the inverse ratio rule took the escalator to hell.