Okay this happens a lot; artist borrows, copies, appropriates another artist’s work. Its an affect of our post-modernism, but at what point is it infringement?
Okay this happens a lot; artist borrows, copies, appropriates another artist’s work. Its an affect of our post-modernism, but at what point is it infringement? The family and estate of Marvin Gaye are going to find out, because they are taking Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, Clifford Harris Jr. to court over their smash hit, “Blurred Lines.”
From the Hollywood Reporter:
The suit claims the Gaye family is alleging that “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” “feel” or “sound” the same, and that the “Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work.”
“But there are no similarities between plaintiffs’ composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements,” states the lawsuit. “Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else’s composition.”
“Blurred Lines” is “influenced heavily” by Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” but the lawsuit makes the point that “being reminiscent of a ‘sound’ is not copyright infringement. The intent in producing ‘Blurred Lines’ was to evoke an era.”
Here are the tracks back to back. You be the judge:
