Scribd

!"

. 15-56880

!"#$ &'())*+,- &'())'.' /0"1#"23456748

I

N

T

HE

F

OR

T

HE

N

INTH

C

IRCUIT

P

HARRELL

W

ILLIAMS

,

ET AL

.,

Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross-Appellees,

v. F

RANKIE

C

HRISTIAN

G

AYE

,

ET AL

.,

Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants. On Appeal From The United States District Court For The Central District of California Hon. John A. Kronstadt, District Judge No. 13-cv-06004 JAK (AGRx)

!"#$%$& ()%#* !* "+,%$-%**./,""#++,$-./0)!../,""#++##. "1,))#++ 2%++%,3.4 )!(%$ -1%05#4 0+%**!)6 1,))%.4 7)84 ,$6 3!)# 2,-#) *)!3 $,9,)#-1 ":(+%.1%$&4 %$08

Howard E. King Stephen D. Rothschild Seth Miller KING, HOLMES, PATERNO & SORIANO, LLP 1900 Avenue of the Stars, 25th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 (310) 282-8989 August 23, 2016 Kathleen M. Sullivan Ellyde R. Thompson QUINN

EMANUEL

URQUHART &

SULLIVAN,

LLP 51 Madison Ave., 22nd Floor New York, New York 10010 (212) 849-7000 Daniel C. Posner QUINN

EMANUEL

URQUHART &

SULLIVAN,

LLP 865 South Figueroa St., 10th Floor Los Angeles, California 90017 (213) 443-3000

"#$%& '()(*++,- ,+./0./,'*- 12& ',,3+'(4- 2567869:& '(- ;#<% ' => 40

ii

CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, counsel for Plaintiffs-Appellants-Cross-Appellees Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke, Clifford Harris, Jr., and More Water From Nazareth Publishing, Inc., certify the following: More Water From Nazareth Publishing, Inc., has no parent company and no publicly held corporation owns 10% or more of its stock.

"#$%& '()(*++,- ,+./0./,'*- 12& ',,3+'(4- 2567869:& '(- ;#<% / => 40

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ............................................................................... 1

JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT .......................................................................... 4

QUESTIONS PRESENTED ...................................................................................... 4

STATEMENT OF THE CASE .................................................................................. 5

A.

Statutory Background ............................................................................ 5

B.

The Copyrighted Work: “Got To Give It Up”

..................................... 6

C.

The

Accused Work: “Blurred Lines”

................................................... 7

D.

The Proceedings Below ......................................................................... 7

E.

The

District Court’s

Summary Judgment Ruling ................................. 8

F.

The Trial .............................................................................................. 14

G.

The District Court’s Post

-Trial Rulings .............................................. 19

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ............................................................................... 21

STANDARD OF REVIEW ..................................................................................... 22

ARGUMENT ........................................................................................................... 24

I.

THE DISTRICT COURT SHOULD HAVE GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF NON-INFRINGEMENT .................................................. 24

A.

The Gayes’ Expert Testimony

Provided No Relevant Evidence Of Substantial Similarity ..................................................................... 26

B.

The District Court Erred In Failing To Compare The Two Works .................................................................................................. 27

C.

“Blurred Lines” Is Not Substantially Similar To “Got To Give It Up”

As A Matter Of Law ................................................................ 30

1.

No Substantial Similarity In “Signature Phrases”

.................... 32

2.

No Substantial Similarity In “Four

-

Note Hooks”

..................... 35

3.


-

Bar Bass Lines”

................ 36

4.


-

Note Vocal Melody”

........ 37

5.

No Substantial Similarity In “Harmonic Structure”

................. 37

"#$%& '()(*++,- ,+./0./,'*- 12& ',,3+'(4- 2567869:& '(- ;#<% 0 => 40