Who's Stealing What?

The first legal dispute I would like to discuss is the cease and desist case between Will.i.am and Pharrell Williams. Will.i.am claims that Pharrell’s I Am other Internet moniker is too close to his trademarked name. I understand the need to protect your trademark but I would call this frivolous. I truly believe that some lawsuits materialize directly from the ego. There has not been a single time that I listened to Pharrell and Will.i.am came to mind. As of today no formal suit has be filed by Will.i.am but Pharrell has filed a suit to counteract the cease and desist order.

Another suit that involves Pharrell involved a song he produced for Robin Thicke. The song “Blurred Lines” samples “Got to Give it Up” by Marvin Gaye. Anyone who has heard both songs can clearly see the resemblance. The family of Marvin Gaye has all right to protect the fallen legends legacy but something tells me this could all have been avoided. Sony and the family have since settled but the terms have not been disclosed.

One of my favorite facts I learned about copyrights is the fact that The Birthday song is still protected under copyright law. But in 2013 a woman by the name of Jennifer Nelson sued Warner/Chappell publishing in order to get the Happy Birthday song into public domain. The original song written by two sisters, Mildred J. Hill and Patty Smith Hill was named “Good Morning to All”. The suit claims that the song evolved overtime due to the public and in affect the public should own it. I agree with this premise and although the case has yet to be solved I feel that the 25 Million dollars paid for the song by warner in 1988 has a lot to do with the fight they’re putting up.