Jones Day Talks Intellectual Property: Blurrier Lines and Narrow Grounds—Implications of the Ninth Circuit’s Blurred Lines Decision
This week, on July 11, 2018, the Ninth Circuit issued an order which both denied a petition to rehear its “Blurred Lines” decision en banc, which upheld the 2015 jury verdict that the hit song “Blurred Lines” by Pharrell...more
When does inspiration turn into copyright infringement? The line is getting blurrier. Jones Day’s Meredith Wilkes, Anna Raimer, and Aryane Garansi explain how the Ninth Circuit’s decision—on “narrow grounds”—in the Blurred...more
The Decision: The Ninth Circuit upheld the district court decision finding Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's song "Blurred Lines" infringed the copyright in Marvin Gaye's song "Got To Give It Up." The Reasoning: Based...more
Yesterday, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals largely affirmed a trial court judgment finding that Pharrell Williams, Clifford Harris and Robin Thicke’s 2013 hit single “Blurred Lines” infringed upon the...more
Did Led Zeppelin copy the opening of its iconic song “Stairway to Heaven” from a lesser-known band? A jury in California will decide in May whether the song copied elements of “Taurus,” a 1967 instrumental track from the...more
Pop artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines” song was the most popular single in 2013, topping the U.S. and international music charts. The song has sold over 6 million copies and its accompanying video has...more
Pharrell Williams, famous for singing about how “Happy” he is, might be changing his tune these days. On March 10, a federal jury found him and fellow pop star Robin Thicke liable for copying Marvin Gaye’s popular song “Got...more