Now that Marvin Gaye's family has won a copyright suit regarding the similarity of Robin Thicke,
Pharrell Williams and T.I.'s "Blurred Lines" and the soul icon's "Got to Give It Up," their lawyer wants
to stop the sales of that song. "We'll be asking the court to enter an injunction prohibiting the further
sale and distribution of 'Blurred Lines' unless and until we can reach an agreement with those guys
on the other side about how future monies that are received will be shared," attorney Richard Busch,
who represents the Gaye family, tells Rolling Stone. "We'll be doing that in about a week or so."A Los
Angeles jury decided Mar 10 that the "Blurred Lines" songwriters infringed on Gaye's 1977 hit "Got to
Give It Up" and ordered them to pay Gaye's family $7.3 million in damages. The lawsuit started when
the "Blurred Lines" songwriters filed a preemptive suit in August 2013 claiming that the hit single was
"strikingly different" than "Got to Give It Up," fearing the Gayes would be litigious.
Asked for his and his clients' reactions to the verdict, the lawyer says all were "thrilled, happy and
satisfied." "Mr. Williams and his legal team portrayed this as the copying of a genre or a groove or a
feel," Busch says. "That was not the case, as the jury found. It was the copy of a musical composition
melody and harmony and bass line and keyboard and other things."
The Gayes had a difficult fight in this suit, Busch says, because the judge would not allow them to play
"Got to Give It Up" for the jury. Since songwriters could file only sheet music for copyrights prior to 1978,
the jury could not hear major recorded elements of the song like its percussion, cowbell and, as Busch
puts it, "party noises." He says his side won the jury over by playing the jury only the protected parts of
the song.
"I'm really grateful," Janis Gaye, Marvin's former wife and the mother of Nona and Frankie Gaye, told
The New York Times following the decision. "I hope people understand that this means Marvin deserves
credit for what he did back in 1977."
Ultimately, Busch does not want the lawsuit to reflect poorly on the Gayes. "I just want to let the readers
know that we didn't start this fight," Busch tells Rolling Stone. "They sued us, taking a declaration of
non-infringement. They started this war and we just finished it.
Source: Rolling Stone
Pharrell Williams and T.I.'s "Blurred Lines" and the soul icon's "Got to Give It Up," their lawyer wants
to stop the sales of that song. "We'll be asking the court to enter an injunction prohibiting the further
sale and distribution of 'Blurred Lines' unless and until we can reach an agreement with those guys
on the other side about how future monies that are received will be shared," attorney Richard Busch,
who represents the Gaye family, tells Rolling Stone. "We'll be doing that in about a week or so."A Los
Angeles jury decided Mar 10 that the "Blurred Lines" songwriters infringed on Gaye's 1977 hit "Got to
Give It Up" and ordered them to pay Gaye's family $7.3 million in damages. The lawsuit started when
the "Blurred Lines" songwriters filed a preemptive suit in August 2013 claiming that the hit single was
"strikingly different" than "Got to Give It Up," fearing the Gayes would be litigious.
Asked for his and his clients' reactions to the verdict, the lawyer says all were "thrilled, happy and
satisfied." "Mr. Williams and his legal team portrayed this as the copying of a genre or a groove or a
feel," Busch says. "That was not the case, as the jury found. It was the copy of a musical composition
melody and harmony and bass line and keyboard and other things."
The Gayes had a difficult fight in this suit, Busch says, because the judge would not allow them to play
"Got to Give It Up" for the jury. Since songwriters could file only sheet music for copyrights prior to 1978,
the jury could not hear major recorded elements of the song like its percussion, cowbell and, as Busch
puts it, "party noises." He says his side won the jury over by playing the jury only the protected parts of
the song.
"I'm really grateful," Janis Gaye, Marvin's former wife and the mother of Nona and Frankie Gaye, told
The New York Times following the decision. "I hope people understand that this means Marvin deserves
credit for what he did back in 1977."
Ultimately, Busch does not want the lawsuit to reflect poorly on the Gayes. "I just want to let the readers
know that we didn't start this fight," Busch tells Rolling Stone. "They sued us, taking a declaration of
non-infringement. They started this war and we just finished it.
Source: Rolling Stone