Blurred Lines Jury Awards $7.3M to Marvin Gaye’s Family

The makers of the song Blurred Lines have to pay the Marvin Gaye Estate. Their song bears too much of an uncanny resemblance to Gaye’s song and they are thus guilty of plagiarism.

You have to be careful nowadays lest some foreign influence enters your artworks. That is because there is every chance you will be liable to end up being sued for plagiarism. This is exactly what has happened in the case of Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, whose song Blurred Lines ended up having too close a tune to Marvin Gaye’s song.

Now they have to cough up $7 million to cover the loss of Marvin Gaye’s family. Gaye’s song which they appear to have copied so blatantly is “Got to Give it Up”. Gaye sang the song in 1977. And Robin and Pharrell’s number was sung in 2013.

Marvin’s family took the necessary steps to sue the two pop stars since Marvin himself wasn’t there to do the same thing. His daughter Nona spoke of how it was such a welter of emotions she felt upon winning the case that she couldn’t express it in words. It was indeed a small miracle that had occurred.

In fact, the family lawyer said that he would get a court order to stop future sales of the song Blurred Lines. Robin and Pharrell were absent from the trial although they had testified in the past.

However, a spokesperson for Pharrell said that it was a very sad day for art and all artists. She said that the jury’s decision set up a bad example for others to follow. Now anyone who wanted to sue anyone else /4/do so without any holds barred. Pharrell had composed that song by putting his heart and soul into it. He did not copy anything from anywhere, she said unequivocally. 

Pharrell’s advisors and lawyers are considering taking up the case again in another higher court. Blurred Lines was the #1 hit song of 2013 and it sold 6.5 million copies. Pharrell Williams has said that it was not like he deliberately copied Marvin Gaye’s song.

He just had a feel for soul music and so sort of channeled the vibe of Marvin’s number unconsciously. The rap artist named T.I. who had participated in composing the song’s lyrics was absolved of any wrongdoing.

Marvin Gaye’s heirs claim that Pharrell’s constant obsession with Gaye’s music led to him copying it. Besides this the song Blurred Lines  already has a risque music video since it features naked women in it.