Pharrell Williams leaves court after testifying at trial in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
Grammy winner Pharrell Williams has broken his silence on the Blurred Lines plagiarism verdict, saying the ruling will "handicap" creators of inspired music.
Williams and Robin Thicke were ordered to hand over US$7.3 million to late soul man Marvin Gaye's family after a jury found them guilty of illegally sampling
the singer's 1977 hit Got to Give It Up.
Williams, who has consistently said that he didn't steal the hooks and melody of Gaye's tune, has told The Financial Times that he plans to appeal the court ruling.
"The verdict handicaps any creator out there who is making something that might be inspired by something else," Williams said, his first comments since last week's court ruling.
"If we lose our freedom to be inspired, we're going to look up one day and the entertainment industry as we know it will be frozen in litigation. This is about protecting the intellectual rights of people who have ideas," he told the US publication.
