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Pharrell Williams seeks summary judgement in his favour in ‘Blurred Lines’ dispute

By | Published on Thursday 24 July 2014

Pharrell

Legal reps for Pharrell Williams have filed a motion calling for the legal battle he, and his cohort in rape-promoting-pop-pap Robin Thicke, are fighting against the descendants of Marvin Gaye to be ruled in his favour without going to trial.

As previously reported, Williams and Thicke themselves kickstarted the litigation on this one, after it was alleged that pop hit ‘Blurred Lines’ (a track which, it turns out, should have been about grammar) lifted heavily from Gaye’s song ‘Got To Give It Up’. The two men wanted a judge to confirm that their controversial smash hit did not infringe the Gaye work. The Gaye family promptly responded with their own litigation seeking damages for the alleged infringement.

Lawyers for popular producer and prolific hat wearer Williams cite various arguments as to why the case should now be resolved by summary judgement, without trial, in their client’s favour. For starters, they claim that the whole dispute began because Thicke admitted to being heavily influenced by the Gaye track in an interview and, says Williams’ attorneys, “the defendants smelled money and rushed to make their infringement demand”.

But influence does not an infringement make, the legal men continue, before pulling apart one of those musicologist reports, prepared for the Gayes, which formally outlines the lifting that took place. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Team Pharrell say many of the similarities cited in that report are generic elements of many pop songs.

And others, they say, while appearing in the ‘Got To Give It Up’ sound recording, were studio production add-ons rather than being part of Gaye’s original composition. A distinction that’s relevant because the Gaye family are suing for infringement of the publishing rather than recording rights.

Unsurprisingly, Williams’ lawyers also point out that the Gaye family’s own music publisher, EMI, recommended against suing over ‘Blurred Lines’. Though the Gayes, of course, have argued that that was because EMI Publishing parent company Sony/ATV also reps Williams, so had a conflict of interest. Separate litigation between the Gayes and EMI on that matter has been settled, with Williams and Thicke’s lawyers last seen trying to find out what was said between the Gaye family and the music publisher to aid their case.

Concluding, Williams’ legal reps say that there is just no actual tangible similarity between ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got To Give It Up’, beyond Thicke being influenced by the latter when recording the former. It remains to be seen how Team Gaye now respond to this latest filing.



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