The Supreme Court recently denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in a much-watched copyright case, leaving in place a March 2020 Ninth Circuit en banc opinion that cleared Led Zeppelin of allegations that the beginning of "Stairway to Heaven" infringed "Taurus," written by Randy Wolfe and performed by the band Spirit. The Court's denial leaves undisturbed the Ninth Circuit's decision concerning the scope of the relevant copyright under the 1909 Copyright Act and the status of the inverse ratio rule in the Ninth Circuit.
First, the Ninth Circuit en banc panel found that the deposit copy of "Taurus" controlled the scope of rights at issue in the case. Pursuant to the 1909 Act, Wolfe's rights in the unpublished composition were limited by the deposit copy, which consisted of one-page of sheet music. Because the deposit...
