A federal judge ruled a jury will decide a claim by Marvin Gaye’s children that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ hit 2012 song ‘Blurred Lines’ copied elements from Gaye’s ‘Got to Give it Up.’ The superstars lost the first round against Gaye’s family. The judge also decided a trial will be needed to determine if the song was copied. The court date is set for Feb. 10th in Los Angeles. Read more on the story after the jump!
U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt came to his decision after reviewing information he received from experts that were hired by Robin Thicke, Pharrell and Marvin Gaye’s children. The judge saw that there’s enough evidence to argue such as musical elements, signature phrases, hooks, bass lines, keyboard chords and vocal melodies that are similar to Gaye’s in the song ‘Blurred Lines.’
Howard King, the attorney of Robin Thicke and Pharrell wrote in an email stating that he was confident that they would win at trial. King stated, “since the compositions at issue are completely different, we remain confident of prevailing at trial.” The judge is deciding on how similar the compositions appear on sheet music and not how “Blurred Lines” and “Got to Give it Up” sound to people. Marvin Gaye’s family also claim that his song “After the Dance” was used for Thicke’s song “Love After War.”
