Guest Post by Wallace Collins on Entertainment Industry Law Issues
As a copyright lawyer, it is my opinion that this decision will be overturned on appeal.
The genre or musical style of a song is not protectable under copyright law – the lyrics and the melody are, but that was not the allegation in this case. The claim here was that defendants copied the style of the Marvin Gaye song, and I do not believe that the jury’s decision would be upheld on appeal as a matter of copyright law (although a jury might not understand that concept).
See case info here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10/jury-verdit-blurred-lines_n_6842732.html
Wallace Collins is an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer based in New York with more than 30 years of experience. He was a recording artist for Epic Records before receiving his law degree from Fordham Law School. Tel: (212) 661-3656; www.wallacecollins.com