More than 200 musicians have signed a legal brief supporting Pharrell Williams’ appeal of the $5.3-million judgment handed down against him and Robin Thicke in 2015 after a jury decided that their hit, “Blurred Lines,” was lifted from Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up.”
That verdict stunned many in the music industry, among them music mogul Irving Azoff, who noted that such cases typically are decided by music experts, not juries, because they can involve nuanced elements of music theory and composition.
“It’s never been based on a jury’s opinion,” Azoff told The Times last year. “If we’re now entering into a gray area, that’s very scary.”
The friend of the court brief argues that the “Blurred Lines” verdict was flawed and that if it remains on the books it would create a profound chilling effect in the creative community because the similarities between the “Blurred Lines” and “Got to Give It Up” had more to do with the general feel rather than specific musical elements in common.
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