Summary: Marvin Gaye’s family wants more money from Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams because of their song “Blurred Lines.”
You know you want it.
Or maybe you don’t.
The hit song “Blurred Lines,” blasted for its questionable rape-culture lyrics, has proven to be an assault against its creators Robin Thicke and Pharrell. The musicians were sued by singer Marvin Gaye’s family for plagiarism and ordered to pay $7.4 million in damages in March 2015.
Now ABC News reports that Gaye’s family is returning back to the well and demanding the musicians pay their legal fees and non-taxable costs, which add up to a whopping $3.4 million.
In paperwork filed by the lawyers and obtained by ABC News, the lawyers wrote, “The Copyright Act provides that in an action for copyright infringement, the Court may award ‘a reasonable attorneys’ fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs. An award of fees to Nona and Frankie Gaye will, therefore, further the purposes of the Copyright Act.”
The Gaye family won the lawsuit which accused Thick and Williams of copying Gaye’s song, “Got to Give It Up.” (See the song comparison below.)
A few months after the $7.4 million reward, a judge lowered the amount to $5.3 million and ordered rapper T.I., Universal Music, Interscope and Star Trek Entertainment to be added to the list of defendants.
In the lawsuit, the Gaye family wanted to place an injunction on the song, but that request was denied. They were granted an ongoing royalty of 50 percent.
It is reported that Thick and Williams filed an appeal last December.
Photo still courtesy of the RobinThickeVEVO channel on YouTube