Jury Verdict Against Pharrell, Robin Thicke May Have "Blurred Lines" for Other Songwriters
A federal jury in Los Angeles unanimously found that singers Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke infringed on the copyright for Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” when the two wrote their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines.” The jury rendered a judgment of $7.3 million to Gaye’s estate, which is now considering seeking an injunction against further sales of “Blurred Lines” and considering further claims against other Thicke songs.
Critics Claim Blurred Lines in Review of Sheet Music Only
Some musical purists are celebrating the ruling, but perhaps even more critics say that this ruling may adversely affect the music and songwriting industries in the future. The copyright that Gaye’s estate was defending applied only to sheet music, meaning the jurors made their ruling without hearing the full sound of each recording. Some critics argue that the full recordings are similar in some ways, but that they are different in many others. And they fear this ruling may inhibit songwriters of the future, who may fear that they will be guilty based on their sheet music, rather than the actual recorded sound.
If the judgment stands, more settlements will likely occur in these types of cases. As it is, music copyright cases rarely reach the trial stage, but that may become an even more rare occurrence as artists seek to avoid similar negative publicity and adverse rulings. At the same time, “Blurred Lines” was a very recent, major pop hit. Given that a three-year statute of limitations for damages recovery exists, songwriters from the early days of rock like Chuck Berry or the Beatles will not be able to launch mass litigation campaigns against artists from all subsequent decades.
Judgement Over Blurred Lines Song Could Be Largest Ever
In the future, however, a court may end up revisiting this ruling. Attorneys for Williams and Thicke will seek to appeal this judgment, one of the largest ever awarded in a music infringement case, and if it is overturned, the feared repercussions of this decision may never be manifested.
SOURCE: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/blurred-lines-lawsuit-5-major-music-industry-implications-20150312?utm_content=buffer3f276&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/robin-thicke-and-pharrell-lose-blurred-lines-lawsuit-20150310 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2015/03/11/the-blurred-lines-of-the-blurred-lines-verdict/ http://www.avclub.com/article/robin-thicke-and-pharrell-appeal-blurred-lines-dec-216481 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/16/business/media/blurred-lines-lawyer-rocks-music-industry-again.html?_r=0
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