Court sides with Marvin Gaye family in ‘Blurred Lines’ lawsuit
Posted On: Mar. 22, 2018 2:45 PM CST
A court rules that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams “Got to Give It Up.”
A California federal appeals court upheld a copyright infringement verdict against singer Mr. Thicke and artist/producer Mr. Williams over the 2013 song “Blurred Lines” on Wednesday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco awarded $5.3 million to Marvin Gaye’s family, who claimed that the song “Blurred Lines” was copied from Mr. Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up,” according to reports from NBC news.
In her dissent Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said “the majority allows the Gayes to accomplish what no one has before: copyright a musical style. ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got to Give It Up’ are not objectively similar. They differ in melody, harmony, and rhythm. Yet by refusing to compare the two works, the majority establishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere,” according to court documents.