MUSIC-BLURRED / COPYRIGHT-REAX Marvin Gaye's heirs win $7.4 million for 'Blurred Lines' plagiarism

Record ID: 496353

  • Title: MUSIC-BLURRED / COPYRIGHT-REAX Marvin Gaye's heirs win $7.4 million for 'Blurred Lines' plagiarism
  • Date: 11th March 2015
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 10, 2015) (REUTERS) WIDE SHOT OF ATTORNEY RICHARD BUSCH AND GAYE FAMILY AT PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARVIN GAYE'S DAUGHTER, NONA GAYE SAYING: "Right now I feel free. Free from, honestly, free from Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told and the fact that we were able to break through anyway. And I'm really just happy, I'm so filled with emotion right now that it's hard to get the words out but this was a miracle." CAMERAS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING GAYE FAMILY, RICHARD BUSCH SAYING: "One thing that I think I have to say right now that I think is very important and that everyone needs to know is we did not start this fight. The jury wasn't allowed to know this but Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke filled this lawsuit against my clients, against the Gaye family for having the temerity to question whether 'Blurred Lines' was an original song and whether it copied 'Got to Give it Up.' They thought that the Gaye family would not have the resources, they would not have the ability and they would not have the wherewithal to fight this fight. They learned wrong." CAMERAS AND REPORTERS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING GAYE FAMILY, RICHARD BUSCH SAYING: "Well obviously when you're in a copyright infringement case involving music and you can't play the entirety of the music that's been copied it's an uphill battle. But, what we were able to do, what the court allowed us to do is to play excerpts of the music that was copied." MARVIN GAYE'S EX-WIFE JANIS HUNTER WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARVIN GAYE'S EX-WIFE JANIS HUNTER SAYING: "It was not easy. Not easy but at the same time we had people around us to lift us up, our legal team especially. And like I said, Marvin's spirit is very strong, he came to visit all of us in one way or another, through his music, through other means. He still has his ways after all these years of not being on this plane, he speaks and he spoke today with the jury." (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARVIN GAYE'S DAUGHTER, NONA GAYE SAYING: "You know we don't get to put him to rest and lay him to rest like some people do. So sometimes it's always raw, it's kind of always raw. And when people do that, what was done to us or tired to be done to us but wasn't successful, yes of course we're going to have a reaction like that. Especially with all the incredible that was done by Richard and the team. It was incredibly emotional, especially because there were jurors there that didn't have to swing our way, they didn't have to but I'm so happy and I'm so thankful that they didn't allow their stardom to affect their judgment." ATTORNEY HOWARD KING WALKING OUTSIDE OF LOS ANGELES COURTHOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING PHARRELL WILLIAMS AND ROBIN THICKE, HOWARD KING SAYING: "I'm disappointed and I'm sure my clients are disappointed by the verdict. We know in our hearts that 'Blurred Lines' is an independent creation from the heart and soul of Pharrell Williams and no one else." ATTORNEY HOWARD KING SPEAKING TO REPORTERS SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY REPRESENTING PHARRELL WILLIAMS AND ROBIN THICKE, HOWARD KING SAYING: "It's a lot of money and it sort of ignores all the contributions that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams made regardless of where the music came from but that's the jury's decision, they have a lot of discretion. It's a lot of money, it's not going to bankrupt my clients but it's a disappointing number, what can I tell you." MARVIN GAYE FAMILY MEMBERS WALKING OUTSIDE OF LOS ANGELES COURTHOUSE
  • Embargoed: 26th March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HX4BP38UYUNLK2X72Z59O4BY
  • Story Text: Heirs of the late soul singer Marvin Gaye are overjoyed with the $7.4 million verdict announced on Tuesday (March 10) against recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams.
    The U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles sided with Gaye's estate in the closely watched litigation, finding that parts of his 1977 hit "Got to Give it Up" were lifted by Thicke and Williams for their summer 2013 R&B chart-topper.
    "Right now I feel free. Free from, honestly, free from Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told and the fact that we were able to break through anyway. And I'm really just happy, I'm so filled with emotion right now that it's hard to get the words out but this was a miracle," said Gaye's daughter Nona Gaye, who spoke on behalf of the Gaye family.
    The defendants were not allowed to play 'Got to Give it Up' in its entirety during the trial because the song was created and recorded in 1977, when songs could only be copyrighted with written notations known as deposit copies. They did, however, present excepts of the song that were annotated.
    "Well obviously when you're in a copyright infringement case involving music and you can't play the entirety of the music that's been copied it's an uphill battle. But, what we were able to do, what the court allowed us to do is to play excerpts of the music that was copied," said attorney Richard Busch, representing the family of Gaye.
    The jury awarded Gaye's heirs $4 million in actual damages plus $3.4 million in profits that Thicke and Williams were found to have derived from their copyright infringement of "Got to Give it Up."
    Several other parties sued by Gaye's estate, the rapper T.I. and various record and music companies, were cleared of copyright infringement on "Got to Give it Up."
    "I'm disappointed and I'm sure my clients are disappointed by the verdict. We know in our hearts that 'Blurred Lines' is an independent creation from the heart and soul of Pharrell Williams and no one else," said Howard King, the attorney representing Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke.
    Thicke, Williams, and T.I. released a statement expressing their disappointment with the decision.
    "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. 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," read the statement.
    The suit by Gaye's children cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their contention he had publicly admitted to drawing on "Got to Give it Up" when producing and recording "Blurred Lines."
    But Thicke said later in sworn statements he was high on painkillers and alcohol when "Blurred Lines" became a hit and that he exaggerated his contribution to writing the song.
    Thicke sang the raunchy, percussive R&B dance tune, a worldwide hit that ranked as the biggest U.S. pop song of the summer of 2013, at that year's MTV Video Music Awards in a provocative performance featuring pop singer Miley Cyrus.
    Williams, the producer behind the song, acknowledged in court that he had been a fan of Gaye's music since childhood, but said under oath that "Blurred Lines" and "Got to Give it Up" were similar in terms of genre only.
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