Robin Thicke, Pharrell Lose 'Blurred Lines' Copyright Case
The lines are no longer blurred. A jury has found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams infringed on Marvin Gaye’s 1977 song “Got to Give It Up,” and must pay nearly $7.4 million.
After two weeks in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the eight jurors reached a verdict in the “Blurred Lines” copyright case, determining that the infringement was not willful, but also not innocent.
The jury awarded the Gaye family $4 million in damages, with profits of more than $1.6 million from Williams and more that $1.76 million from Thicke. T.I., who is also featured on the chart-topping 2013 hit, was cleared of any wrongdoing.
During the trial, it was revealed that “Blurred Lines” sales exceeded $16 million. Thicke and Williams earned over $5 million apiece, and T.I. netted more than $700,000.
The jury was shown interviews of Thicke and Williams saying they were inspired by Marvin Gaye and wanted to channel “Got to Give It Up.”
On the stand, Thicke claimed that he was inebriated during the interviews, while Williams testified that any similarities were not pre-conceived.
UPDATE: Robin Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I. have released a joint statement in response to the verdict.
“While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward,” said Williams, Thicke, and T.I. “‘Blurred Lines’ was created from the heart and minds of Pharrell, Robin, and T.I. and not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter.”