Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Um…Clowns are on the Loose in South Carolina?

According to eyewitness reports, there are clowns wandering around the woods in South Carolina. While the police haven’t confirmed the sightings, they certainly have the residents of Greenville County on edge. It may all be a hoax…but the entire idea is still incredibly creepy.

Rant Crush

RantCrush collects the top trending topics in the law and policy world each day just for you.

The post RantCrush Top 5: September 2, 2016 appeared first on Law Street.

Pharrell isn’t happy. Last month the hit song “Blurred Lines,” created by Pharrell Williams and singer Robin Thicke, was officially found to be in violation of copyright law. A California judge ruled that the track was too similar to Marvin Gaye’s well-known song, “Got to Give It Up.” Williams and Thicke were ordered to pay $7.4 million to Gaye’s family. Was the judge’s ruling too harsh? Not harsh enough? Have a listen for yourself.

Marvin Gaye’s sister, Zeola Gaye, was also featured on the song “Got to Give It Up.” Amid controversy surrounding the lawsuit, Zeola Gaye clarified that she did not receive any of the $7.4 million reward. In fact, she never desired or requested any of the money from the case; compensation was always meant to go solely to Marvin Gaye’s heirs.

You may have heard “Blurred Lines” played ad nauseum on radio stations during the summer of 2013. You’ve probably also heard about (or seen) the song’s controversial music video featuring a few scantily clad ladies. I’d wager you probably haven’t heard the opening arguments of the lawyer who defended Williams and Thicke in court. Howard King began his case by telling the jury that creativity could not be owned:

We’re going to show you what you already know: that no one owns a genre or a style or a groove. To be inspired by Marvin Gaye is an honorable thing.

Although the judge’s final ruling ultimately disregarded King’s premise, Williams has echoed King’s sentiments regarding the ownership of ideas. The Grammy winner claims that the outcome of his case has implications for the music industry and creativity at large:

The verdict handicaps any creator out there who is making something that might be inspired by something else.

Harsh judicial penalties may cause confusion as to what materials artists can and can not use, leaving them in creative limbo.

Courtesy of Giphy.com.

Artists who have creative discrepancies do not always head straight to the courtroom—soulful crooner Sam Smith recently settled a lawsuit with Tom Petty out of court. Musicians and artists who side with Williams fear that the litigation blitz surrounding “Blurred Lines” will start a wave of similar cases wherein artists are unduly penalized for emulating their idols.

Corinne Fitamant

Corinne Fitamant is a graduate of Fordham College at Lincoln Center where she received a Bachelors degree in Communications and a minor in Theatre Arts. When she isn’t pondering issues of social justice and/or celebrity culture, she can be found playing the guitar and eating chocolate. Contact Corinne at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Pharrell Williams Fears For the Future of Creativity appeared first on Law Street.

Hey y’all!

I’m a big music fan–especially good music. In my opinion though, “Blurred Lines” by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke does not fall into that category. Sure the tune is catchy but listen to the words. Really listen to them, and of course watch the music video. I’m sure it was a just a fun thing for these guys to do one night but I bet they are regretting it now.

A jury in California found that the song was a rip off from Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” — a song I know and love. The jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s family $7.4 million. That’s a lot of dough for one song!

I know both songs pretty well; one because its fun to listen to and the other because radio stations don’t know how to take a song off of repeat when it is released. I’m no music expert, just an enthusiast, but I have to wonder what is considered plagiarism and what is considered influence when creating music.

Pharrell claims that he grew up listening to Marvin Gaye so I am sure “Got to Give it Up” was included. It was probably one of those songs he listened to all the time and perhaps that catchy tune stayed with him and he wanted to express his love for it through the creation of his own with a little bit of a similar beat.

According to an expert supplied by Gaye’s family, there are “eight distinct elements” from ‘Got to Give It Up’ used in ‘Blurred Lines’. Eight elements. Is that like eight notes used consecutively that made it sound like it was ripped right from Gaye’s song? Or was it eight different pieces of ‘Blurred Lines’ that could possibly be the same as Gaye’s song because they are presented in the same manner or located at about the same point in the songs? I don’t get it.

I also have a tiny issue with the fact that jurors were subjected to hearing the entirety of ‘Blurred Lines’ on several occasions but none of those jurors got to hear Gaye’s song. It was taken apart and only played based off of sheet music. If that were the case then why didn’t they pick apart ‘Blurred Lines’ and present it to the jury solely based off of the sheet music? Again, I am not a fan of ‘Blurred Lines’ but I feel like this should have been a fair fight and it wasn’t.

I do feel bad for Pharrell because he is the one who signed a document stating he was the sole responsible party for any copyright claims. Kiss $7.4 million goodbye, Pharrell. But then again that just might be chump change to  him these days. On another note, Thicke had to fess up to not having a single thing to do with writing the song, so he looked like a fool.

Seems to me like “Blurred Lines” would have been best left on a shelf in some producer’s office instead of forcing its awfulness on to the masses and then creating all of this pain and anguish for Gaye’s family, Pharrell, and Thicke.

Allison Dawson

Allison Dawson was born in Germany and raised in Mississippi and Texas. A graduate of Texas Tech University and Arizona State University, she’s currently dedicating her life to studying for the LSAT. Twitter junkie. Conservative. Get in touch with Allison at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Blurred Lines Was a Rip Off appeared first on Law Street.