During opening arguments, he told the jury, “We’re going to show you what you already know: that no one owns a genre or a style or a groove. Clifford Harris Jr.), spoke about how artists need wide berth in their creative pursuits. Howard King, representing Thicke, Williams and rapper T.I.
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Marvin Gaye Family Says Jury Has Been ‘Poisoned’ By ‘Blurred Lines’ Trial Testimony Not only did the “Blurred Lines” case go the distance, both sides brought esteemed entertainment litigators to convince the jury. The highest-profile disputes - like the one between Tom Petty and Sam Smith over “Stay With Me” - usually settle. Most never get past the summary-judgment phase, because judges carefully draw the line on any lawsuits alleging misappropriation of non-protectable ideas.
The hardly predictable outcome over a song that made more than $16 million in profits will resonate in the music industry, where copyright lawsuits are commonplace but few ever make it to trial. Both escaped statutory damages as the infringement was found not to be willful.
The verdict was reached after eight days of trial testimony examining whether Robin Thicke‘s and Pharrell Williams‘ “Blurred Lines,” one of the most successful songs of the young century, was improperly drawn from a soulful hallmark from the prior one: Marvin Gaye‘s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up.” Ultimately, a jury comprised of five women and three men heard dueling opinions regarding “Blurred Lines” and decided to order Thicke and Williams to pay $4 million in copyright damages plus profits attributable to infringement, which for Thicke was determined to be $1.8 million and for Williams was determined to be $1.6 million - a total of $7.4 million. ‘Blurred Lines’ Trial: Motown Exec Wanted to Make Robin Thicke-Marvin Gaye Mash-Up On Tuesday (March 10), a California federal jury delivered its own message to artists everywhere that inspiration can rise to copyright infringement.
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