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    Appeal seeks to overturn “Blurred Lines” copyright verdict 

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    In this Feb. 21, 2016, file photo, Pharrell Williams attends the 2016 ABFF Awards: A Celebration of Hollywood in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    Attorneys for Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams on Wednesday asked an appellate court to overturn a copyright infringement verdict against them over the 2013 hit song "Blurred Lines."

    An opening brief filed with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal contends the case should never have gone to trial and the verdict should be overturned, or a new trial ordered.

    The case centered on whether Thicke and Williams copied the Marvin Gaye hit "Got to Give It Up" for their hit song, although jurors were only supposed to consider whether "Blurred Lines" improperly copied notes from Gaye's sheet music.

    "What happened instead was a cascade of legal errors warranting this court's reversal or vacatur for new trial," the opening brief states.

    Thicke and Williams' filing contends the judge presiding over a weeklong copyright infringement trial gave jurors several improper instructions.

    The trial ended in March 2015 with jurors awarding Gaye's family more than $7 million. The verdict was later trimmed to $5.3 million.

    "We obviously believe the jury and district judge who confirmed the jury's findings were correct in finding infringement," the Gaye family's attorney, Richard Busch, wrote in an email. "Many of these same arguments now contained in their opening brief were raised and rejected by the district judge, and our own opening responsive brief will contain what we believe will be very strong replies to each and every point they raise."

    In addition to winning a multi-million dollar judgment against Williams and Thicke, the Gaye family also received a 50 percent interest in ongoing royalties from "Blurred Lines." The song was the biggest hit of 2013.

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    Tags:Blurred Linescopyright infringementMarvin GayePharrell WilliamsRobin Thicke



    As the world rediscovers “The Odyssey,” disabled actors in Greece explore the pain of war

    Sunday, August 9, 2026
    From left to right, Eirini Kourouvani, a wheelchair dancer, Evi Saoulidou and Lydia Fotopoulou perform during a dress rehearsal of Euripides' tragedy The Trojan Women, staged by the National Theatre of Greece, at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus, Greece, on Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

    As Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" renews global fascination with Homer, a cast of disabled and non-disabled performers in Greece is staging the war's other story.

    It's not about the triumph of returning heroes, but the suffering they left behind.

    "The Trojan Women," with a cast of 22, was staged at Epidaurus, the ancient open-air stone arena in southern Greece. It marked what organizers called the first fully accessible performance in the ancient theater's 2,300-year history.

    While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city's ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

    The ancient theater offered a full range of accessibility services for the Aug. 2 performance. Blind audience members received Braille programs, tactile models and live audio description, while deaf spectators followed overhead titles. Physical adaptations also improved access throughout the site.

    "It's the first time a performance at Ancient Epidaurus has been made accessible to everyone," said Greg Polychronidis, a Paralympic gold medalist who attended the event. "Today was a celebration of equality and it should serve as an example for everyone, forever."

    For many of the performers, standing on the ancient stage was itself part of the message: a voice for those often overlooked. Eirini Kourouvani, a 58-year-old cast member who uses a wheelchair, had never set foot inside the theater before.

    "It is just grand," she said. "I feel my heart opening up as wide as this theater is."

    Ioanna-Maria Gertsou, a blind psychologist, attended with Babu, her guide dog.

    "We too have the right to attend performances on an equal footing," she said,... Read More

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