Thursday, March 12, 2015

"Blurred Lines" is clear infringement

Am I the only one in the world who thinks the Blurred Lines judgment is right? From the Internet, it sure seems that way.

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams broke into jail here. From a litigator's perspective I have no hesitation in saying they are reaping what they sowed.
"Blurred Lines" ended up in court when Pharrell and Thicke sued the estate of Marvin Gaye for a declaratory judgment, which is where you ask a judge to say "this thing you claim isn't true". And from a copyright lawyer's perspective I say this is a judgment that shows you can create a derivative work of something without actually incorporating that work.

And that principle is nothing new.