‘Blurred Lines’ Verdict Upheld by Appeals Court<br />Yet in the majority opinion, Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. rejected the idea<br />that the verdict would harm creativity, and suggested that the case hinged more on the skills of lawyers: “Far from heralding the end of musical creativity as we know it,” Judge Smith wrote, “our decision, even construed broadly, reads more accurately as a cautionary tale for future trial counsel wishing to maximize their odds of success.”<br />In a dissent, Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen harshly criticized the decision as one<br />that “allows the Gayes to accomplish what no one has before: copyright a musical style.” She further warned that the decision “establishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere<br />By BEN SISARIOMARCH 21, 2018<br />In the music industry’s most closely watched copyright case, a federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a jury’s finding<br />that Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” infringed on the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.”<br />When the case went to trial in 2015, it became a flash point in the music industry over the limits of copyright.<br />For example, even before the “Blurred Lines” verdict was announced, Sam Smith willingly shared credit<br />for his hit “Stay With Me” after Tom Petty said it sounded like his song “I Won’t Back Down.”<br />Even the appeals court decision, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of<br />Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, reflected the dispute over the case’s ramifications.
