Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke to pay $7.4m to Marvin Gaye's family over Blurred Lines

[Miles Archer]

Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke to pay $7.4m to Marvin Gaye's family over Blurred Lines

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/10/blurred-lines-pharrell-robin-thicke-copied-marvin-gaye

A jury awarded Marvin Gaye’s children nearly $7.4m on Tuesday after determining singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied their father’s music to create Blurred Lines, the biggest hit song of 2013.

Marvin Gaye’s daughter Nona Gaye wept as the verdict was being read and was hugged by her attorney, Richard Busch.

“Right now, I feel free,” Nona Gaye said after the verdict. “Free from ... Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told.”

The verdict could tarnish the legacy of Williams, a reliable hit-maker who has won Grammy awards and appears on NBC’s music competition show The Voice.

[misterhighwasted]

1. A mere pittance for Williams. I hear the $7 mill will be split

..between the accused.
But am ok with this decision because the family deserved this going in their favor.

[hfojvt]

2. I wonder if Williams

is happy.

[underpants]

3. LOL

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. DUzy! nt

[malaise]

8. No because he had 'blurred vision'

Great verdict - too much music has been stolen.

[KamaAina]

4. I still can't believe Pharrell was involved with that misogynistic POS

[we can do it]

9. He's homophobic, why not misogynistic as well?

[KamaAina]

11. I did not know that!

</johnny-carson>

I thought "happy" was a synonym for "gay"!

[we can do it]

14. I was not happy to hear it!

[ladyVet]

15. Oh, gods, thanks for that flashback!

How many years I watched Mr. Carson use that line! Lawsy. I needed a laugh.

On topic, glad the family won. Creative property shouldn't be stolen.

[kwassa]

5. I think this is a bad decision.

They lost for imitating a style, rather than plagiarizing a melody.

This could bring on all kinds of new lawsuits.

the current hit "Uptown Funk" imitates many great funk bands of the past. Very closely.

[Bluenorthwest]

7. Actually they argued 8 distinct elements from Gaye's 'Got To Give It Up' and not the 'style' at all.

Yet others have won on exactly the grounds of imitated style, an example would be Tom Waits who turned down commercial use of his work and the ad makers simply recorded something that sounded like a Waits song, sung by a fake Waits. They did not copy the work at all, but the entire style and they lost, and deservedly so.

[cbdo2007]

13. I agree with you, this is a scary precedent for creativity.

When I hear both songs side by side, I don't hear any melody plagiarism. The birth of Rock N Roll was based entirely on copying other styles and adding your own personal touch to it, and while I don't like the song personally, it certainly reads more Robin Thicke and very little Marvin Gaye.

[whatchamacallit]

19. Agree

It was a dumbass ruling. Here's Stevie's take:

https://m.

[WillowTree]

10. "The verdict could tarnish the legacy of Williams".......I doubt it.

Any more than when George Harrison got nicked for copyright infringement over "My Sweet Lord". At least in Williams' case, I'd bet it's a similar situation of subconscious plagiarism. And if you've got enough talent, and Williams does, people forget over time.

[LittleBlue]

12. Yeah. He's written so many hits

one song won't tarnish his legacy. Many modern artists would be tarnished if this standard applies strictly

[Oneironaut]

16. Q: What is the main instrument that Pharrell uses in his songs?

A: A copy machine!

Yeah, that was pretty lame. Sorry.

[Blue_In_AK]

17. It didn't really sound like a steal to me,

unlike the Stay With Me thing (which wisely they settled out of court). Yes, the percussion and rhythm were the same, but the tune was quite different, at least to my ears.

[mythology]

18. I'm conflicted on this

Copyright protection goes way too long, but Pharrell is, in my opinion, just utterly awful at the job of writing enjoyable songs and anything that reduces the odds of me having to hear his work again is a good thing.

That and the Blurred Lines song and rape association.

[TeeYiYi]

20. This is not the first time Robin Thicke has stolen from Marvin Gaye...

Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man:

Robin Thicke - Million Dollar Baby:

I think he got off easy with only a $7.4m judgement. I hope Marvin Gay's family sues him over Million Dollar Baby and anything else he's pilfered without crediting the artist.

TYY

[Spazito]

22. They are going to appeal the decision...

Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams to appeal Blurred Lines verdict

"The trial focused on detailed analyses of chords and notes in both Blurred Lines and Got to Give It Up, but jurors never listened the actual recordings of either songs, because Gaye’s family only owned the copyright to the sheet music for Got to Give It Up.

This fact is likely to figure prominently in the artists' appeal.

"This jury didn't listen to any music, which is rather surprising to me," said King. "The fact, is harmonies are different, the chords are different and the notes are different.""

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/robin-thicke-pharrell-williams-to-appeal-blurred-lines-verdict-1.2991705

The fact the jury was not presented with the actual recordings of both songs to compare is a major issue, imo.

[Vinca]

23. Good. That was one of the most blatant ripoffs ever.