#SONG LINES WITH IMAGES TRIAL#

In April, one blogger branded it a 'rape song', and two months later Tricia Romano of the Daily Beast described it as 'rapey', a word that caught fire in other media outlets. At the end of March, mid-table R&B singer Thicke, along with producer Pharrell Williams and rapper TI, released Blurred Lines, a libidinous R&B party jam about a woman in a nightclub who may or not be interested in him. It seems impossible that anyone with the faintest interest in popular culture could have missed either the song or the controversy, but here is a recap. This is the latest development in the story of how the biggest song of theВ year became the most controversial of the decade: an unprecedented achievement, though not one that fillsВ Thicke with pride. It joins around 20 other UK student unions to do so. Nguyen harshly criticized the decision as one that вЂњallows the Gayes to accomplish what no one has before: copyright a musical style.вЂќ She further warned that the decision вЂњestablishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere.T his week, University College London student union (UCLU) took the unusual step of banning a single song, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines.

#SONG LINES WITH IMAGES TRIAL#

rejected the idea that the verdict would harm creativity, and suggested that the case hinged more on the skills of lawyers: вЂњFar from heralding the end of musical creativity as we know it,вЂќ Judge Smith wrote, вЂњour decision, even construed broadly, reads more accurately as a cautionary tale for future trial counsel wishing to maximize their odds of success.вЂќ Yet in the majority opinion, Judge Milan D. They reversed a decision that had also assigned liability to the rapper T.I., who contributed to the song, and Interscope Records, which released it. In a ruling that for the most part was concerned with procedural issues, the judges upheld most of the trial courtвЂ™s decision and its damages award of $5.3 million. For example, even before the вЂњBlurred LinesвЂќ verdict was announced, Sam Smith willingly shared credit for his hit вЂњStay With MeвЂќ after Tom Petty said it sounded like his song вЂњI WonвЂ™t Back Down.вЂќ Since the dispute over вЂњBlurred LinesвЂќ began, there have been several prominent settlements over credit and royalties. Thicke and Pharrell Williams, who helped write and record the song, disputed that claim, and in the wider music industry, many worried that suit went too far in trying to protect generic elements of a songвЂ™s style and вЂњfeel.вЂќДЄ victory, opponents of the case warned, could lead more litigation and have a chilling effect on creativity.

The family of Gaye, who died in 1984, argued that вЂњGot to Give It UpвЂќ was copied without permission, and that it had helped make вЂњBlurred LinesвЂќ the biggest hit of 2013.

When the case went to trial in 2015, it became a flash point in the music industry over the limits of copyright. In the music industryвЂ™s most closely watched copyright case, a federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a juryвЂ™s finding that Robin ThickeвЂ™s song вЂњBlurred LinesвЂќ infringed on the copyright of Marvin GayeвЂ™s вЂњGot to Give It Up.вЂќ

Song lines with images