Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams have lost the first round in their court battle with Marvin Gaye’s family, paving the way for a lost case that could cost both musicians a ton of dough.
A judge denied Thicke and Williams motion for summary judgment and ruled that their song “Blurred Lines” has enough similarities to Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” to go to trial. The Gaye family’s lawyers “made a sufficient showing that elements of ‘Blurred Lines’ may be substantially similar to protected, original elements of ‘Got to Give It Up,'” Judge John Kronstadt said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Additionally, the judge added that similarities such as “signature phrases, hooks, bass lines, keyboard chords, harmonic structures and vocal melodies,” can definitely represent “protectable expressions.” If these accusations are verified in trial, it could cost Thicke and Williams substantial amounts of money, as the hit in question generated millions for the musical stars.
To make matters worse, Thicke actually made some incriminating comments in the May 2013 issue of GQ, saying that “Blurred Lines” was actually written because he admired Gaye’s track.
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“Pharrell and I were in the studio and I told him that one of my favorite songs of all time was Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got to Give It up,'” Thicke told the publication. “I was like, ‘Damn, we should make something like that, something with that groove.'”
However, when those comments were pointed out in court, Thicke said that he “was high and drunk” during the GQ interview — and in every other interview he did that year. He also blamed Williams for having written most of the song himself. “None of it was my idea… [and] I’d say 75 percent of [the song] was already done when I walked in.”
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The case is scheduled to go to trial on Feb. 10, 2015. It is not looking good for Thicke or Williams, and if they lose the case, they stand to lose millions in infringement costs to the Gaye family.
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