Taylor Swift will have to stand trial over the alleged copyright infringement of her 2014 hit song, “Shake It Off.” According to Stereogum, in 2017 songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler accused Swift of infringing on their 2001 song “Playas Gon’ Play,” released by the group 3LW. The case was dismissed by a judge in 2018, but an appeals panel brought back the case last year. 

Although the songs don’t sound similar, there are almost identical lyrics used in both of the songs’ hooks. The 3LW song includes the lyrics “playas, they gonna play” and “haters, they gonna hate.” In the chorus to “Shake It Off” Swift sings, “Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play/And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” Although US District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald decided that there were enough “objective similarities” in the two songs to take it to a jury, Judge Fitzgerald also acknowledged that there were “some noticeable differences” between the two songs. Apart from the lyrics in the chorus, the songs sound nothing alike. 3LW’s song is a smooth RnB, Pop fusion track with a laid back 2000’s hip-hop style beat. Meanwhile, “Shake It Off” is an energetic and extremely catchy dance-pop tune from Taylor Swift, led by an unmistakable deep saxophone. Take a listen to the two songs below.

This won’t be Swift’s first time taking the stand. In 2017, Swift testified against David Mueller, a Denver radio DJ, in a sexual assault lawsuit. The jury ruled in favor of Swift and subsequently determined Mueller guilty of alleged assault and battery.  

Recently, Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version) which saw instant success when she released it on November 12. In fact, her ten-minute version of the track “All Too Well” just broke the record for the longest #1 hit song previously held by Don Mclean’s nine-minute song “American Pie.” On Red (Taylor’s Version), she also works with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers on the unreleased track “Nothing New.”