Pharrell Williams has spoken out for the first time since the verdict in the "Blurred Lines" trial with Marvin Gaye's family. Pharrell says that the ruling greatly affects the creativity of artists.

"The verdict handicaps any creator out there who is making something that might be inspired by something else," Williams said while speaking with The Financial Times. "This applies to fashion, music, design… anything. 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. Everything that's around you in a room was inspired by something or someone. If you kill that, there's no creativity."

Following the court's verdict, Howard King, the attorney who represented Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in the “Blurred Lines” case says he will be appealing the verdict. Earlier today (March 19), Marvin Gaye's children penned an open letter to the public, in which they claimed a trial could have been avoided had Thicke and Williams approached them during their creative process. Earlier this week, the Gaye family also filed an injunction to prevent the further sale of "Blurred Lines."

The Gaye estate also filed a motion that seeks to amend that judge’s decision to include not only T.I. in the list of people financially culpable for “Blurred Lines,” but also Universal, Interscope and Star Trak, the labels who jointly released the song.

But there is some good news for Pharrell. The CFDA— the non-profit trade organization for North-American designers—named Pharrell the Fashion Icon of the year. They announced it on Twitter yesterday. The award goes to an individual whose style has made a significant impact on popular culture on an international stage. Pharrell thanked CDFA for the honor through his Twitter account. Last year's winner was Rihanna.

Related: Marvin Gaye's Family Want Judge to Punish T.I., Universal and Interscope
Marvin Gaye’s Family Thinks Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ Is Copied Too
Pharrell and Robin Thicke Have to Pay the Gaye Estate $7.3 Million For "Blurred Lines" Plagiarism

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