After five years, the legal battle over the copyright of the Robin Thicke’s 2013 hit “Blurred Lines” has ended, with Marvin Gaye’s family being awarded a final judgment of nearly $5 million against the song’s primary writers, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, according to CNN and other reports.
The pair were accused of copyright infringement due to the song’s similarities to Gaye’s 1977 hit, “Got to Give It Up.” In 2015, the pair were ordered to pay the late singer’s estate more than $7 million, which was later reduced to $5.3 million.
In March, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals mostly affirmed a jury’s 2015 $5.3 million verdict — but it did clear rapper T.I., who appears on Thicke’s song, as well as Interscope Records, which released it.
Thicke and Williams were ordered in 2015 to pay Gaye’s estate more than $7 million, but that judgment was reduced to $5.3 million, and the pair appealed the verdict. In a recent judgment, Thicke, Williams and Williams’ publishing company were required to pay the estate damages of nearly $2.9 million. Thicke also was ordered to pay more than $1.7 million and Williams and his publishing company must pay $357,631 in separate awards to Gaye’s estate. Gaye’s family will also receive pre-judgment interest on the damages and 50% percent of the royalties from “Blurred Lines.”