Taylor Swift to face plagiarism trial over 'Shake it Off' lyrics

Pop superstar Taylor Swift must face a lawsuit from songwriters who claim the Grammy-winning singer copied their lyrics in her 2014 hit single "Shake It Off," a California judge has ruled.

In a decision issued on Thursday, US District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald rejected Swift's bid to throw out a suit that said she took wording from 2014 song "Playas Gon' Play" by R&B girl group 3LW.

Fitzgerald said there were "some noticeable differences" between the songs but also "enough objective similarities" that the case should go to a jury trial.

"Although Defendants have made a strong closing argument for a jury, they have not shown that there are no genuine issues of triable fact," the judge wrote.

A spokeswoman for Swift had no comment on Friday. In 2017, her representatives had called the songwriters' claim of copyright infringement "ridiculous" and "nothing more than a money grab."

In "Shake It Off," Swift sings: "the players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."

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Their case had been thrown out in 2018 but the pair appealed and suit was revived.