Over 200 Musicians Support Appeal To Overturn 'Blurred Lines' Verdict

Last year a US court awarded the family of Marvin Gaye over $US7 million in damages after it ruled that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke had lifted parts of the singer's track Got To Give It Up for their 2013 smash hit Blurred Lines, but now, over 200 musicians are supporting the appeal of the decision, insisting the verdict "is very dangerous to the music community".

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 212 artists have supported a bid to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by Williams, Thicke and TI (real name Clifford Harris Jr) to overturn the decision, which includes a string of big-name acts including members of Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Tool and Tears For Fears, as well as Jennifer Hudson, R Kelly and Rivers Cuomo of Weezer.

"The verdict in this case threatens to punish songwriters for creating new music that is inspired by prior works,"  the artists' brief written by Ed McPherson reads.

"All music shares inspiration from prior musical works, especially within a particular musical genre. By eliminating any meaningful standard for drawing the line between permissible inspiration and unlawful copying, the judgment is certain to stifle creativity and impede the creative process.

"The law should provide clearer rules so that songwriters can know when the line is crossed, or at least where the line is."

The brief further reads that Got To Give It Up and Blurred Lines "do not even share a single melodic phrase," and suggests that the jury may have seen similarities between the "feel" of both songs, while it also notes Gaye himself was also influenced by names such as Frank Sinatra and James Brown.

"Such a result, if allowed to stand, is very dangerous to the music community, is certain to stifle future creativity, and ultimately does a disservice to past songwriters as well," it continues.

"One can only imagine what our music would have sounded like if David Bowie would have been afraid to draw from Shirley Bassie, or if the Beatles would have been afraid to draw from Chuck Berry, or if Elton John would have been afraid to draw from the Beatles, or if Elvis Presley would have been afraid to draw from his many influences."