Led Zeppelin founder and guitarist Jimmy Page and his publisher Warner Chappell have been sued by Jake Holmes, writer of the original version of the song ‘Dazed And Confused’, which was later reworked into the track of the same name on Led Zeppelin’s debut album.
The lawsuit centres on recordings of the song by Page’s earlier band The Yardbirds. Holmes says those are recordings of his version of the song, in which he is the sole copyright owner. And yet, Page and his business partners have released those recordings, and allowed one of them to appear in the recent documentary ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’, without sorting out the necessary licences.
Holmes previously sued Page over the rights in ‘Dazed And Confused’ back in 2010. When that lawsuit was settled, it was agreed that there are two versions of the song - Holmes’ original and Page’s rework for Led Zeppelin - with the latter being officially credited since that legal battle as being “written by Jimmy Page, inspired by Jake Holmes”.
In the new lawsuit the two versions are respectively referred to as the ‘Holmes Composition’ and the ‘Page Composition’. It also explains that, as part of the settlement of the 2010 litigation, Page and his business partners “acknowledged that they have no claim whatsoever to or with respect to the Holmes Composition”.
Moreover, they “agreed that Holmes created, and had and has complete ownership, of the Holmes Composition, and the unrestricted right in perpetuity, throughout the world, to use, license and exploit the Holmes Composition in any manner he sees fit”.
Subsequent to that settlement, the new lawsuit alleges, Page and his company have “released numerous sound recordings of the band Yardbirds which embody the Holmes Composition”.
But, the lawsuit claims, Warner Chappell, on behalf of Page, claimed that “the Holmes Composition was the Page Composition” on those recordings, and then “falsely licensed to record labels the Holmes Composition as if it was the Page Composition for use on the Yardbirds sound recordings”.
Plus, Holmes’ lawsuit goes on, Page and his publisher “infringed the Holmes Composition in connection with the documentary motion picture entitled ‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’”.
That film, it says, features both the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin versions of the song. “The Yardbirds performance of ‘Dazed And Confused’ in the film is a performance of the Holmes Composition”, it claims, but use of Holmes’ song was not licensed for the documentary.
All of which, Holmes concludes, makes Page et al liable for copyright infringement and breach of the settlement agreement that followed the 2010 lawsuit. Holmes wants an injunction prohibiting future infringing use of his song and lots of damages.
