News  /  March 13, 2015  /  ,

Jury Rules in Favor of Marvin Gaye’s Family in “Blurred Lines” lawsuit; Media Turns to Larry Iser for Analysis

KHIKS Managing Partner Larry Iser was quoted in several publications and appeared on several nationally syndicated talk shows to discuss the stunning jury verdict in the “Blurred Lines” case that rocked the music industry.

Larry was quoted by Anthony McCartney of the Associated Press in an article that can be found here.

Larry’s quote: “Unfortunately, today’s jury verdict has blurred the lines between protectable elements of a musical composition and the unprotectable musical style or groove exemplified by Marvin Gaye,” Iser said. “Although Gaye was the Prince of Soul, he didn’t own a copyright to the genre, and Thicke and Williams’ homage to the feel of Marvin Gaye is not infringing.”

Larry was also quoted in Ben Sisario’s New York Times article that can be found here.

Larry’s quote: “It will cause people who want to want to evoke the past to perhaps refrain from doing so,” Mr. Iser said. “Rather than helping to progress the arts, it is a step backward.”

He was also quoted several times in Billboard, including articles by Eriq Gardner and Harley Brown that can be found here and here.

Larry’s quote: “I find some solace in the fact that the jury found it isn’t willful. It means that Williams and Thicke — who admitted he didn’t write it — didn’t set out to copy ‘Got to Give It Up.’ When you start with that fact, the jury blurred the lines between protectable elements of the musical composition and what is unprotectable, which is a musical style or genre, the groove exemplified by Marvin Gaye. …  The purpose of the Copyright Act is to advance the arts. When you go into a recording studio, you borrow from the past to move the art forward. I think that’s all that happened.”

Larry was also on Bloomberg Radio, where he dissected the case with other music experts.