It seems only fitting that the most epic and dramatic of rock songs has resulted in one of the music industry’s most epic copyright fights.

“Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin’s 1971 megahit, defined rock radio for decades and helped make its credited writers, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, extremely rich. For the last five years, it has been caught up in a copyright infringement case that has gripped the music industry. In a hearing scheduled for Monday, a panel of 11 federal appellate judges in San Francisco will delve into the song’s authorship.

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“Music copyright infringement cases are infinitely more difficult than any other kind of copyright infringement case, period,” said Paul Goldstein, a professor at the Stanford Law School who is an expert in copyright law.

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“That is really the first time I’ve seen that argument made in those terms,” Professor Goldstein said.