Taylor Swift’s "Shake It Off" lawsuit dropped weeks before trial

In December last year judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ruled that Taylor Swift would have to face a jury trial as part of a copyright infringement lawsuit that accused her of plagiarising lyrics from 3LW's 2001 song "Playas Gon' Play" for "Shake It Off". Shortly after Swift filed a request for Fitzgerald to reconsider his ruling, which was denied.

The trial was expected to begin on 17 January 2023, but yesterday (12 December), as The Guardian reports, “Playas Gon' Play" songwriters Sean Hall and Nathan Butler told a federal judge that they will dismiss the case (originally filed in 2017) with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Yesterday’s (12 December) court documents were filed by lawyers of Swift and the songwriters, and did not disclose if they had reached a settlement.

Back in August Swift addressed the copyright lawsuit that started in 2017, stating that the lyrics "were written entirely by me". She also claimed that she "had never heard the song "Playas Gon’ Play" and had never heard of that song or the group 3LW" until the lawsuit in 2017.