Pharrell Williams has issued a warning after losing a multimillion-dollar plagiarism suit over the Robin Thicke song, Blurred Lines.
In Williams’ first interview since last week’s proceedings, which saw him and Thicke fined USD$7.3 million for copying elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song Got To Give It Up, he said the ruling will destroy creativity.
Speaking with The Financial Times, Williams said, “The verdict handicaps any creator out there who is making something that might be inspired by something else. This applies to fashion, music, design… anything.
“If we lose our freedom to be inspired we’re going to look up one day and the entertainment industry as we know it will be frozen in litigation. This is about protecting the intellectual rights of people who have ideas.”
Williams said inspiration remains a key facet of creativity, and warned that punishing inspiration will have creative consequences. “Everything that’s around you in a room was inspired by something or someone,” Williams said. “If you kill that, there’s no creativity.”
Williams wouldn’t comment on whether or not he and Thicke will appeal the Blurred Lines verdict, but said, “We’re working out our next steps right now.”
Williams and Thicke had previously released a joint statement saying that the Blurred Lines ruling “sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward”.
Elsewhere in the Blurred Lines saga, the Gaye family have filed a new injunction seeking to stop all sales of the song, which has made over USD $16.7 million in profit for its creators.
Relive the two songs at the centre of this ugly stoush, below.
