Robin Thicke Files Lawsuit to Protect 'Blurred Lines' from Marvin Gaye's Family
Robin Thicke filed a lawsuit to prevent the family of Marvin Gaye from collecting royalties on his summer blockbuster, Blurred Lines.
The Hollywood Reporter reported Thursday that Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell filed a lawsuit that same day because of legal threats from Gaye's family. There have been complaints from Gaye's descendants and Bridgeport Music that there too many similarities between Blurred Lines and one of Gaye's notable hits, Got to Give It. Sexy Ways by the Funakedlic's is another hit that has drawn comparisons to the summer smash, but Thicke denied any plagiarism in his filing.
"But there are no similarities between plaintiffs' composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements," the lawsuit stated. "Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else's composition."
The trio of Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell are asking a judge to declare that they did not steal any music. They also want to prevent Gaye's family and Bridgeport Music from contemplating any legal moves to stake a claim to any money derived from Blurred Lines. The hit has been #1 on Hot 100 for an impressive 10 weeks.
On Friday, George Clinton lent his support to Thicke and his collaborators via Twitter. He used to be the lead singer of led Funkadelics.
No sample of #Funkadelic's 'Sexy Ways' in @RobinThicke's 'Blurred Lines' - yet Armen Boladian thinks so? We support @RobinThicke @Pharrell!
— George Clinton (@george_clinton) August 16, 2013