Judge Dismisses “Shake It Off” Plagiarism Lawsuit Brought Against Taylor Swift

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Taylor Swift over alleged plagiarism in her hit "Shake It Off" quoting Swift's lyrics in the ruling.

Jesse Braham, who records as Jesse Graham, sued Swift over the lyrics to "Shake It Off" claiming that Swift had appropriated some of them from a song Braham recorded in 2013. Braham, who operates a non-denominational church in addition to his music career, contended that Swift lifted his lyrics "Haters gonna hate / players gonna play" for the chorus of her song, which is "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."

U.S. District Judge Gail Standish dismissed Braham's case without prejudice. Noting that Braham's complaint seems to have been self-produced, and was rife with blank spaces and mistakes, the judge referenced Swift's lyrics in her ruling.

"As currently drafted, the Complaint has a blank space — one that requires Braham to do more than write his name. And, upon consideration of the Court’s explanation in Part II, Braham may discover that mere pleading BandAids will not fix the bullet holes in his case. At least for the moment, Defendants have shaken off this lawsuit," Standish said.

However, the 'without prejudice' ruling, leaves the door open for Braham to refile the case.

"At present, the Court is not saying that Braham can never, ever, ever get his case back in court. But, for now, we have got problems, and the Court is not sure Braham can solve them," Standish added.

Braham had been seeking $42 million from Swift and her record label Sony, as well as a songwriter credit.