Gaye family awarded $7.4 million in ‘Blurred Lines’ trial
A federal jury on Tuesday found that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams lifted “Blurred Lines” from Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up,” but conceded that they didn’t necessarily do it on purpose. On the question of whether they committed “willful” infringement, the jury voted “no”;
No matter — though not even the winning lawyer could adequately explain that result, the cash, which is broken down by $4 million in damages, plus $1.6 million in profits from Williams and $1.7 million from Thicke, will go to Gaye’s children Nona, Frankie and Marvin III, pending a possible appeal.
Marvin Gaye. Source: AP / Doug Pizac
The Gaye family’s attorney, Richard Busch, also said he would seek an injunction against “Blurred Lines” (arguably the song of 2013 along with Williams’ other hit, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”), either to have it removed from rotation or to assert some kind of claim on future profits.
The eight-member jury — five women, four men — deliberated less than two days after getting the case last Thursday following closing arguments at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles. Attorneys had summarized several days of testimony that included Thicke, Williams, rapper T.I., expert musicologists, record executives, comparison diagrams and multiple playings of “Blurred Lines.”
Though “Blurred Lines” was played several times throughout the trial, the jury was never allowed to hear the entirety of “Got to Give It Up,” since copyright law only protected its underlying sheet music when it was recorded in 1976. But the plaintiffs prevailed anyway, as the jury was convinced that “Blurred Lines” had enough of the song’s structure and melody in common to grant the award — a point that Busch drove home when speaking with reporters outside after the verdict was read.
Before that fateful moment on Tuesday, Gaye’s sons closed their eyes and folded their hands in prayer; his daughter Nona sobbed softly upon learning that their case had been vindicated, leaning on Busch and continuing to gently weep on the elevator ride down, though she pulled it together in time to talk briefly to the press waiting outside.
Robin Thicke outside the Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles. Source: David Buchan/Associated Press
Thicke and Williams, who had been present throughout much of the eight days of testimony, were not on hand to hear the verdict, and their lawyer did not speak to the scrum of reporters gathered outside
Proving copyright infringement is no easy feat, even when both songs are allowed to be played, and most cases settle — as with Sam Smith and Tom Petty earlier this year. Lawyers for Williams and Thicke had argued that they styled “Blurred Lines” in the same spirit as “Got to Give It Up,” but that a “genre” is not protectable; however, the artists’ frequent admissions in the press that they were inspired by Gaye may have sunk them, despite that their quotes were not sworn testimony, which their lawyer was quick to point out.
In the end, the evidence, much of which was corroborated by testimony from expert musicologists hired by the Gaye family, convinced the jury that the intent extended from homage to infringement. While the upshot may not be as chilling as the “Blurred Lines” writers’ lawyer had suggested in closing arguments, we’ll see if anyone openly and specifically admits to being inspired like that ever again.
