Videos by American Songwriter
In response to the legal battle surrounding the song “Blurred Lines,” over 200 musicians filed an amicus brief with Los Angeles’ Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and T.I.
Marvin Gaye’s estate sued Williams, Thicke and T.I. in 2013 for copyright infringement over what they alleged were similarities between “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.” Gaye’s estate won and received $5.3 million in the verdict. The case was notable in that the alleged infringement was not due to similar melodies or lyrics, but instead about the songs’s overall “vibes.”
The artists that signed the brief, which include R. Kelly, Hans Zimmer, the Black Crowes, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and producer Danger Mouse, hope to overturn the case’s verdict, which, as the brief states, “threatens to punish songwriters for creating new music that is inspired by prior works.”
Read the full brief below.
