

a timely piece this afternoon delving into Robin Thicke's unauthorized homage to Marvin Gaye, a time-honored tradition in the music world.
A jury this week decided pop singer Robin Thicke and producer/singer Pharrell Williams must pay millions in copyright infringement fees. Their song in question, "Blurred Lines," became the biggest hit of of 2013. ...
The idea of stealing music is as old as music itself. It just wasn’t called stealing before copyright laws. A composer borrowed a tune from someone else, or was inspired by someone else’s melody, or learned about a particular style by transcribing someone else’s music.