The entertainment industry could be “frozen in litigation” after the Blurred Lines copyright lawsuit, Pharrell Williams has said.
Speaking for the first time since a jury determined that he and Robin Thicke had copied a Marvin Gaye song to create the hugely popular single, the singer said the effect from the judgement could seriously stifle creativity.
He told the Financial Times: ” 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.”
He added: ” Everything that’s around you in a room was inspired by something or someone. If you kill that, there’s no creativity.”
Williams said he and Thicke were considering their “next steps”, declining to say whether or not they would appeal against the verdict.
Blurred Lines was the biggest hit of 2013, selling millions of copies worldwide.
Last week Gaye’s children were awarded nearly £4.9 million, after a trial which had focused on detailed analyses of chords and notes in Blurred Lines and Gaye’s hit Got To Give It Up.
