Taylor Swift shakes off song legal battle

Taylor Swift is in the clear after a judge dismissed a lawsuit over her hit song Shake It Off by quoting lyrics from her tracks.

Songwriter Jessie Braham sued the singer for $42 million over claims Taylor ripped off parts of his track Haters Gone Hate for her chart-topping 2013 single.

Jessie suggested he came up with the phrase "haters gone hate", and alleged Taylor slightly re-wrote his lyric to read "haters gonna hate" and used it more than 70 times in her song.

The allegation went to court in California, and a judge has now ruled in Taylor's favour, dismissing the case against the pop star.

U.S. District Court Judge Gail Standish made a series of cheeky references to Taylor's songs in her ruling, quoting from tracks including Bad Blood, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Blank Space and the disputed track, Shake It Off.

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

The court case victory is the latest good news for Taylor as she recently settled a trademark dispute with a clothing company over her use of the number 13 on merchandise.

She was recently named the highest-paid musician in the world in a new poll by editors at Dailymail.com who estimated her earnings have swelled to more than $1 million per day.

They report the Style superstar has raked in around $317 million since January (15) from her music, world tour, and her endorsement deals.

Taylor has earned the cash from her hugely popular fifth album, 1989, which sold 1.3 million copies in its first week alone following its release in October last year (14), and her 1989 World Tour has also proved to be a big money-spinner.

She also has a long line of endorsement deals which have added millions to her bank account, including a fragrance line with Elizabeth Arden, and deals with Diet Coke and footwear company Keds.

Taylor previously ranked eighth on the Forbes magazine's Celebrity 100 Rich List earlier this year (15).