Is Robin Thicke & Pharrell Williams’ “Blurred Lines” day in court finally over?

Posted on March 23, 2018 by keith — Leave a reply

Well this case (might) finally (maybe) be over (maybe)

A three-judge panel at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld the original verdict, ruling that Thicke and Pharrell will, indeed, have to pay millions to the Gaye family. (The only change is that T.I., featured on the song, no longer has to pay.)

…

The precedent that it sets is bad news for creativity, as Judge Nguyen wrote — it allows the Gayes to “copyright a style.” Judge Smith does not appear to recognize the door he’s opened for older artists to sue current artists for acknowledging the former’s influence on their work. The original verdict is a dangerous and slippery slope that allows acrimony and general bad faith to come between artists who should and would otherwise appreciate each other. It’s also completely responsible for the litigious environment surrounding popular music in the time since the “Blurred Lines” verdict came down. I can think of a number of songs in the current top 20 that could be equally as guilty of this new type of infringement if this indeed is the new standard.

The ultimate effect will be to limit creativity and stifle innovation, which goes against the very reason these ideas were included in the Constitution in the first place: to promote the arts, not to determine and/or to protect ownership.

source: Vulture

And one last time, here are the two songs in question

Marvin Gaye – “Got to Give it Up” (1977)

Robin Thicke – “Blurred Lines” (2013)

Miley Cyrus Sued for “We Can’t Stop” (Plus 4 Other Songs She Ripped)

Posted on March 13, 2018 by keith — 1 Comment ↓

I just came across this Pitchfork article about a recently filed copyright lawsuit against Miley Cyrus and was pretty curious. Most of the soundalikes posted on this site are fairly obvious bit I dunno about this one. Before you listen to the music in question regarding this post have a listen to these gems first. I’ll be here when you’re done …

Miley Cyrus vs. The B-52’s

Miley Cyrus vs. Tammany Hall NYC

Katy Perry vs. Kesha vs. Miley Cyrus vs. Justice

Corey Hart vs. Miley Cyrus

OK, and now for this post:

Jamaican dancehall artist Flourgon is suing Cyrus for copyright infringement over her track “We Can’t Stop” (2013). Flourgon claims Cyrus’ hit rips numerous elements from his 1988 single “We Run Things”.

Miley Cyrus has been sued for copyright infringement over her Bangerz single “We Can’t Stop,” Reuters reports. Jamaican dancehall artist Flourgon, born Michael May, claims that the 2013 hit infringes on his 1988 single “We Run Things.” Mike WiLL Made-It, Rock City (Timothy and Theron Thomas), manager Larry Rudolph, RCA Records, and Sony Music are also named in the lawsuit. He’s seeking a trial by jury, an injunction to halt sales and further performances of the song, damages, and attorney’s fees. Pitchfork has reached out to Cyrus’ representatives for comment.
– Pitchfork

Have a listen to both:

Miley Cyrus – “We Can’t Stop” (2013)

Flourgon – “We Run Things” (1988)

View this document on Scribd

Ed Sheeran, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill sued for “The Rest of Our Life”

Posted on February 12, 2018 by keith — 2 Comments ↓

Hollywood Reporter posted on 1/10/2018 that, “Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who together released a song in October [2017] titled ‘The Rest of Our Life,’ along with Ed Sheeran who is credited with co-writing this tune, have all been hauled into court in the latest copyright lawsuit targeting a chart-topper.” The similarities seem pretty obvious to me. As you can see by the links at the bottom of this post, this isn’t the first time Ed Sheeran made news on this site.

Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Ed Sheeran – “The Rest of Our Life” (2017)

Jasmine Rae – When I Found You (2015)

YouTube user ThePermuted uploaded a version with them mixed on top of each other.

The complaint was filed on Wednesday in New York federal court by Sean Carey and Beau Golden, two Australians who say the McGraw/Hill track is “blatant copying” of their own 2014 song, “When I Found You.”

“The copying is, in many instances, verbatim, note-for-note copying of original elements of the Song, and is obvious to the ordinary observer,” states the complaint.

Richard Busch, who successfully won a trial for the family of Marvin Gaye in the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit, is representing the plaintiff. The Nashville-based attorney previously took on Sheeran in a $20 million copyright lawsuit over another hit, “Photograph.” That case ended in a settlement that resulted in two suing songwriters being added to credits and gaining a significant share of royalties.

Now, with song theft allegations continuing to draw great attention (see the fuss this week over how the publisher of Radiohead’s “Creep” is making legal demands over Lana Del Rey’s “Get Free”), three music superstars along with co-writers Johnny McDaid and Amy Wadge as well as music industry giants Sony/ATV, Universal Polygram, WB Music plus others must respond to new charges of ripping off material. In this case, it’s alleged that the copying was fully known by employees of Sony Music.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/ed-sheeran-penned-song-tim-mcgraw-is-target-copyright-lawsuit-1073696

You can download a PDF of the official New York District Court filing here which includes some notated examples like this: