"Blurred Lines" Case Leads to One of the Largest Damages Awards

By Matthew R. Macaluso, Keller Macaluso LLC

A jury finds that Robin Thicke and Pharell Williams’ 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines” copied elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give it Up” without permission. In one of the largest damages awards in a music copyright case, the jury awarded $7.3 million to Marvin Gaye’s family. Read more about the case here. 

In contrast, Tom Petty and Sam Smith settled a similar dispute related to Smith’s hit song “Stay With Me.”  Smith agreed to give Petty co-writing credit as the song included a chorus similar to Petty’s hit “I Won’t Back Down.” You can read more about that case here. 

This post was written by Matthew R. Macaluso of Keller Macaluso LLC. If you would like to submit content or write an article for the Sports & Entertainment Law Section page, please email Rachel Beachy at rbeachy@indybar.org.