The federal appeals court in Seattle has sided with Marvin Gaye, the late Motown legend.
The 9th circuit court of appeals upheld a copyright infringement verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their 2013 hit, "Blurred Lines:"
[asset-audio[{"description": "Blurred Lines intro", "fid": "143363", "uri": "npraudio://201803/blurred_shorter.mp3"}]]It sounds a lot like Marvin Gaye's song, "Got to Give it Up" from 1977:
[asset-audio[{"description": "Got to Give it Up intro", "fid": "143364", "uri": "npraudio://201803/gaye_short.mp3"}]]
The decision was split in the federal court in Seattle.
One of the dissenting judges wrote that the ruling sets a dangerous precedent, because the Gaye estate has managed to copyright a musical style.
But the attorney for the Gaye family says the ruling encourages writers to create original work rather than take advantage of the success of others.