Judge Dismisses Taylor Swift ‘Shake It Off’ Copyright Lawsuit

That “Shake It Off” copyright lawsuit against Taylor Swift has been dismissed by a judge.

The artist was sued in 2017 by songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler who claimed Swift lifted her lyrics from their 2001 track, “Playas Gon’ Play”, performed by 3LW.

In “Shake It Off”, Swift sings, “‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.” Meanwhile, “Playas Gon’ Play” features the line, “playas, they gonna play” and “haters, they gonna hate.”

Earlier this year, Swift insisted the lyrics to her 2014 hit were “written entirely” by her and no one else, and now judge Michael Fitzgerald has taken her side in the case, Sky News reported.

Fitzgerald dismissed the lawsuit “in its entirety” on Monday and with prejudice, which means Hall and Butler won’t be able to refile.

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“Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, this action is hereby dismissed, in its entirety and with prejudice, plaintiffs and defendants to bear their respective attorney’s fees and costs,” the docs read.

The case was expected to go to trial on January 17. The documents didn’t confirm whether a settlement had been reached between the three artists.

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Swift spoke about the origins of her song in a sworn declaration on August 8.

She told the judge at the time, “In writing the lyrics, I drew partly on experiences in my life and, in particular, unrelenting public scrutiny of my personal life, ‘clickbait’ reporting, public manipulation, and other forms of negative personal criticism which I learned I just needed to shake off and focus on my music.”

The “August” singer also said that she “had never heard the song ‘Playas Gon’ Play’ and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW,” until she learned about the lawsuit in 2017.