As the trial known on the docket as "Michael Skidmore vs. Led Zeppelin et al" kicked off its first day in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday, the proceedings commenced with a unique blend of awe-inspiring superstar charisma and snore-inducing legalese. 
 
 Related Led Zeppelin Win in 'Stairway to Heaven' Trial Jury determines "Stairway" did not copy Spirit's "Taurus" after one day of deliberation 
 
 The civil case, which hinges on an alleged copyright infringement by Led Zeppelin due to the potential similarity between their classic-rock all-timer "Stairway to Heaven" and the composition "Taurus" by Sixties cult psych-rockers Spirit, features some surprising parallels and paradoxes. Both legal teams feature graying ponytailed Brits of varying celebrity: On the plaintiff side, there's Michael Skidmore, a former musician and music writer who's the executor of deceased "Taurus" songwriter and Spirit member Randy "California" Wolfe. Facing Skidmore directly across the table is non other than Zep icons Jimmy Page and a bearded Robert Plant, both decidedly regal in their finely tailored suits and coiffed, pulled-back locks. 
 
 Indeed, from a sartorial comparison alone, this legal fight resembles a battle between modern-day Wildings and the Westeros High Court. The plaintiffs' side is all combovers and buzzcuts; the rough-and-tumble crew of controversial bar-brawling Philly lawyer Francis Malofiy, who exudes a decided resemblance to Sean Penn's character in Hurlyburly. 
 
 Entering the court with a briefcase made to resemble a Fender tweed-covered amp, Malofiy has the cover of Houses of the Holy ostentatiously glowing from his laptop and cracks his knuckles all through the day's primary concern: jury selection. He's a stark contrast to the patrician countenance of Zeppelin lawyer Peter Anderson and the seemingly bespoke suiting of his legal team. Indeed, as Malofiy fidgets, Page and Plant exude an almost zen calm, staring straight ahead without chatting or visibly reacting through the process; only towards the end before the lunch break does Page allow a wry smile to crack the facade. 
 
 The presiding judge, Gary Klausner, oversees the proceedings with a gruff, military-evoking countenance - giving strict instructions as to how he feels lawyers should behave and having the bailiff toss out three spectators whose ringing iPhones violate his "all cellphones off" dictum. Klausner has allotted a 10-hour limit and estimated the trial would last three to four days. 
 
 Related: Does It Matter If Led Zeppelin Stole “Stairway to Heaven”? 
 
 Klausner's no-nonsense demeanor and lack of pop-culture savvy, however, doesn't indicate a particular direction as to where this case may be going. "We're not going to do anything spontaneous up here," he icily instructs both parties' counsel, and amusingly refers to the famed defendants as "the Led Zeppelin." 
 
 The jury selection, meanwhile, seems to break down by age and hair profiling: the dude with the shoulder length Prince Valiant bowl, surfer tan and Hawaiian shirt was a for sure no-go, as was the special effects expert who proclaimed without prompting from the jury box, "I'm very much a fan - my love for these guys [gesturing to Page and Plant] is very strong." 
 
 The novelty of being so close to Led Zeppelin's iconic members was thrilling. Seeing Plant stroke his beard thoughtfully as he listened to testimony and chit-chat with Page during breaks while drinking a deli cup of tea proved priceless amidst the hours of tedium. The arguments put forth in the opposing sides' opening statements gave some idea of the paths this trial might take. 
 
 Malofiy's colloquialisms and digressions were entertaining. "'Tambourine man' [was] an actual job in the Sixties," he stated at one point; in another he described the plaintiffs and defendants "having fun doing what young men in rock bands do after hours" amidst a bevy of musical jargon. 
 
 Malofiy cited a 2014 change in copyright law as the reason the case was coming forward more than 45 years after the release of "Taurus," along with repeated events that indicated, in his legal view, that Led Zeppelin were not only aware of Spirit, but indeed fans of the band and the recordings that included "Taurus." Malofiy attempted to play video of a session musician’s performances of "Taurus" and "Stairway," but Anderson said that they hadn’t been included in the case's exhibit list. "If it's not been received in the evidence, it's the basis of a mistrial," Judge Klausner noted. 
 
 Related Who Were Spirit, the Band From Zeppelin's 'Stairway' Trial? Beyond the now-infamous "Taurus," there was much more to this inventive L.A. psych-rock act 
 
 When Malofiy’s videos were finally played, however, they were compelling. In the first, the guitarist played "Stairway," then the bass clef part of "Taurus," then the two songs together – almost matching note for note. A portion of Led Zeppelin's live cover of the Spirit song "Fresh-Garbage" also proved damning. During Anderson’s argument, the defense played the 2:14 opening minutes of "Stairway" in contention, and it was a dazzling moment. 
 
 Anderson followed that with a recording of a seemingly inconclusive performance of "Taurus" by the defense’s expert musicologist Lawrence Ferrara. Anderson also claimed "Taurus" was not owned by Wolfe’s trust but by Lou Adler's Hollenbeck Music, and may have been introduced into the suit via "unclean hands." He also noted the descending chromatic scale has been a feature of musical composition since the 1600s, including "Michelle" by the Beatles, which he noted Spirit didn't credit on "Taurus," either. "We have evidence, too," Anderson said. 
 
 Malofiy's secondary counsel was Glen Kulik, who worked on the copyright case involving the use of Jake La Motta and Frank Petrella's intellectual property for the film Raging Bull that led to the 2014 precedent cited by Malofiy. He questioned Randy California's sister Janet, which didn't go anywhere. Anderson's cross examinations of the plaintiff's witnesses were brief. If the defense team was breaking a sweat over the potential outcome, his performance behind the lectern didn’t show it. 
 
 Next to the presence of authentic rock legends Page and Plant, the most intriguing part about the first day are the high-profile witnesses expected to appear throughout the trial. In his statement to the court, Malofiy indicated that Spirit members Mark Andes and Jay Ferguson (both present in the galley), renowned rock impresario/music biz legend Lou Adler and former Guitar World editor Brad Tolinski, an expert in all things Led Zeppelin and author of the 2013 Page biography Light and Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page would all appear or testify in court. (Curiously, Tolinski denied his involvement in the trial, writing on Facebook, "I have not been approached to testify for either side. Would've been interesting, though...") 
 
 The defense, meanwhile, had a far shorter witness list - the one boldfaced name being none other than Zep bassist and co-founder John Paul Jones. In addition to Page and Plant, there may be no more expert eyewitness than Jones — dismissed as a defendant in pre-trial hearings — who might be able to persuade an impartial jury that the songwriting credits (and royalty disbursement) remain the same. 
 
 Who were Spirit, the band from Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway' trial? Watch here. ||||| Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, two of Led Zeppelin’s founder members, arrived in court in Los Angeles on Tuesday to defend themselves against accusations that Stairway to Heaven, the band’s most famous song, was plagiarised. 
 
 The pair appeared at the opening of a trial in a federal court case prompted by allegations that the song was a copy of Taurus, composed by the late Randy Wolfe and recorded by his band Spirit. 
 
 A trustee for Wolfe - who died in 1997 and was also known as Randy California - claims the musician deserves a partial song-writing credit on Stairway To Heaven, the opening cords of which is alleged to be based on his composition. 
 
 Michael Skidmore, the trustee, is also claiming unspecified damages. 
 
 "No one owns common musical elements," defence lawyer Peter Anderson said in opening arguments for the copyright infringement trial in Los Angeles federal court. 
 
 Page, 72, and 67-year-old Plant - who cancelled a scheduled 19 June concert at London’s South Bank Centre to appear at the trial - cut very different figures from their fabled rock star images as they arrived in courtroom 850 of the Edward R Royal building in downtown Los Angeles. 
 
 Both men looked sombre in dark three-piece suits and had their trade-mark long hair tied back in pony tails. 
 
 They deny that Stairway To Heaven, which appeared on the 1971 Led Zeppelin IV album, was copied from Taurus, an instrumental song Wolfe composed when he was just 16. 
 
 They acknowledge opening for Spirit in a 1968 concert in Denver and appearing on the same billing with them on other occasions but insist they had very little interaction with the band. 
 
 Francis Alexander Malofiy, the lawyer representing Skidmore, told a jury in opening arguments the case centres on an infringement by Led Zeppelin of copyright law, which protects artistic creation. 
 
 "It gives credit to creation but it does not give credit to copying," Malofiy said. 
 
 Anderson said his side will present evidence showing neither Skidmore nor Wolfe's trust own the copyright to "Taurus." 
 
 Testimony in the case began with Janet Wolfe, sister of Randy Wolfe, who said her brother had written "Taurus" for his wife, Robin. 
 
 When asked if she and her brother had ever discussed "Stairway to Heaven," Janet Wolfe said yes. 
 
 "It was something that upset him for many, many years," she said. "I wanted him to do something about it." 
 
 Jay Ferguson, a former member of Spirit who later went on to write film and television scores, told the court that Taurus was "a real special moment" in the band's concerts because it contrasted with the other louder songs they were playing. 
 
 "It was beautiful. It was a different style of music than anything else we played in the show," he said. 
 
 Although it was often part of the group's typical concert set, it was not one of its"tent pole" songs, which it would be expected to play to generate record sales, he added. 
 
 Asked by Mr Malofiy if people had ever suggested to him that Taurus was similar to Stairway To Heaven, Mr Ferguson replied: "Quite often." 
 
 He recalled playing on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in three pop festivals in 1969 and briefly meeting Plant the following year when the singer turned up at a Spirit gig in Mothers club in Birmingham the following year. "We were flattered," he said. ||||| The legal battle over one of rock music’s most monumental ballads got underway Tuesday as the famous opening guitar riff from Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” filled a downtown courtroom and members of the iconic band looked to defend themselves against allegations they lifted the music from another group. 
 
 In their opening statements, attorneys for the two sides offered jurors sharply different views of the 1971 hit that helped catapult Led Zeppelin into rock stardom. 
 
 Francis Malofiy, the lawyer representing the estate of singer Randy Wolfe, claimed the opening of “Stairway” closely mimics parts of “Taurus,” a song Wolfe wrote and played with his band Spirit. Experts, Malofiy said, would show how the musical structure of “Stairway” mirrors a unique construction used in “Taurus.” 
 
 “This case can be summed up in six words: Give credit where credit is due,” Malofiy told jurors. 
 
 But an attorney for Zeppelin’s front man, Robert Plant, and lead guitarist, Jimmy Page, said any similarities were because the two songs both relied on “basic musical devices that are completely commonplace” and found in songs dating back centuries. 
 
 He also challenged Malofiy’s claim that Page and Plant heard Spirit perform their song when the two bands shared the bill at several music festivals. 
 
 Page and Plant both sat with solemn expressions and their long hair pulled back in ponytails. 
 
 During breaks, the rock stars were escorted from the courtroom and ushered down a side exit by private security who kept inquisitive journalists and fans seeking handshakes at bay. 
 
 At issue is whether the British band nicked “Stairway’s” famous opening passage, which evokes centuries-old Renaissance folk music, from L.A. rock outfit Spirit. The two bands shared some concert billings in the late 1960s when Led Zeppelin was in its infancy. 
 
 A loss for Led Zeppelin could mean millions of dollars in royalties going to the estate of Spirit guitarist and songwriter Randy Craig Wolfe, a.k.a. Randy California, for one of the most recognized and played recordings of the rock era. 
 
 It’s the highest-profile infringement case since last year’s suit in which R&B-soul singer Marvin Gaye’s family was awarded $7.4 million by a jury that decided pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ monster hit “Blurred Lines” had infringed on Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.” A judge later reduced the award to $5.3 million. 
 
 The common ground between “Stairway to Heaven” and “Taurus” largely comes down to a 10-second musical theme that appears 45 seconds into “Taurus,” an instrumental from the band’s 1968 debut album. That song was released three years before “Stairway to Heaven” surfaced on Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album, commonly referred to as “Led Zeppelin IV.” 
 
 Peter Anderson, one of Zeppelin’s attorneys, told jurors Monday the similarity is nothing more than coincidence between musicians working in a field rooted in commonly used and reused musical ideas. 
 
 Page and Plant, along with John Paul Jones, the other surviving member of the band, are all included as witnesses in court filings and are expected to testify. The judge has dismissed Jones as a plaintiff. 
 
 The case is being closely monitored in the music business because it involves not only one of the most recognizable songs in the rock repertoire, but also one of the most lucrative. In 2008, Conde Nast’s Portfolio estimated that “Stairway to Heaven” had generated $562 million in publishing royalties and record sales since its release. 
 
 If jurors ultimately side with Wolfe, who died in 1997, his estate would be eligible to receive revenues earned by the song only during a recent 3-year period, according to copyright law. 
 
 The panel must decide whether members of Led Zeppelin heard the song played enough times to conceivably rip it off, and whether the two songs meet a legal threshold of “substantial similarity.” 
 
 In an effort to emphasize the differences between the two songs, Anderson played a recording of the minimalist, copyrighted version of “Taurus” and the first two minutes of “Stairway” during his opening statements. 
 
 For his first witnesses, Malofiy called Wolfe’s sister and a former band mate in an attempt to prove that Wolfe wrote “Taurus” in 1966, a year before he signed a contract with a music company. The timing is important, because Zeppelin’s legal team plans to argue the rights of “Taurus” belong to the music company, not Wolfe’s estate. 
 
 joel.rubin@latimes.com 
 
 randy.lewis@latimes.com 
 
 For more news on the “Stairway to Heaven” copyright trial, follow us on Twitter: @joelrubin and @RandyLewis2 
 
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– The battle over "Stairway to Heaven" has begun: The Led Zeppelin ballad was played in a Los Angeles federal court Tuesday as the copyright trial kicked off, with lawyers claiming the band stole the start of their 1971 song from the earlier song "Taurus" by '60s psych-rock band Spirit, reports the Los Angeles Times. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who canceled a London concert to attend the trial, were on hand, and Matt Diehl at Rolling Stone writes that they looked "decidedly regal in their finely tailored suits and coiffed, pulled-back locks." The contrast with the plaintiffs and their lawyers made the legal duel seem like "a battle between modern-day Wildings and the Westeros High Court," he writes. "This case can be summed up in six words: Give credit where credit is due," said the attorney representing the estate of late Spirit singer Randy Wolfe. He argued that Page and Plant heard the song when Led Zeppelin played at some of the same concerts and music festivals as Spirit in the late '60s, the Telegraph reports. A lawyer for the Zeppelin members argued that both songs used "basic musical devices that are completely commonplace" and can be found in Renaissance folk music from centuries ago, as well as in the Beatles' "Michelle," which predates the Spirit song. The trial is expected to last all week. (Ed Sheeran has been hit with a $20 million copyright lawsuit.)