U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt ruled that the copyright infringement verdict a jury reached in March should
be cut from nearly $7.4 million to $5.3 million. The judge's ruling, however, gives Gaye's family 50 percent of the
song's future royalties.
Kronstadt's 56-page ruling dealt with several post-trial issues, including a request by Thicke and Williams' lawyers
for a new trial. The judge rejected that motion, and also refused to issue an injunction requested by Gaye's family
that would have temporarily blocked sales and performance of "Blurred Lines." The jury in March sided with Gaye's
family, who contended "Blurred Lines" copied Marvin Gaye's 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up." Jurors found that rapper
T.I., who received songwriting credit and a share of the royalties, did not commit copyright infringement, but Kronstadt
ruled July 14 that other elements of the jury's verdict mean he must be included in the judgment.
"Mr. Thicke and Williams, and their legal team, among others, went on a public relations campaign after the jury's
verdict criticizing the verdict and saying the evidence did not support the finding of copyright infringement, and did
not believe the decision on liability would therefore stand," the Gaye family's attorney, Richard Busch, wrote in a
statement. "The judge who actually heard all of the evidence disagreed. I am thrilled for the Gaye family, and the
thoughtful members of the jury, who had to listen to all of that while remaining silent.” Busch said he and his team
were reviewing the ruling and would discuss options for how the reduction in the verdict would be handled.
Williams contended during the trial that he was only trying to mimic the "feel" of Gaye's late 1970s music and
insisted he did not use elements of his idol's work. "Blurred Lines," which was the biggest song of 2013, remains
Thicke's biggest hit.
Source: AP