Pharrell and Robin Thicke Ordered to Pay $5 Million in ”Blurred Lines” Verdict
The five-year legal battle over the copyright claims for the chart-topping single “Blurred Lines” has finally ended. A judge recently ruled that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke must pay the Marvin Gaye estate nearly $5 million in damages, reports NBC News.
The musical pair had been accused of copyright infringement for their 2013 hit single because of how similar it sounds to Gaye’s classic 1977 tune “Got to Give It Up.”
In a Dec. 6 decision, a judge in the Central District of California reinstated the March ruling, and ordered Pharrell, Thicke and More Water From Nazareth Publishing to pay Gaye’s estate $2.9 million in restitution.
Thicke must also pay an additional $1.76 million, while the “Lemon” producer and his publishing company must each cough up separate payments of $357,630.
Rapper T.I., who also appears on the song, was cleared of any liability back in March, and that decision was upheld in the judge’s final Dec. 6 verdict in the case.
In addition, the Gaye estate was also awarded a prejudgment interest on the damages and 50 percent of the royalties from "Blurred Lines" moving forward.
Overall, Pharrell and Thicke must cut hefty checks to the Marvin Gaye estate.
Reps for both Skateboard P and Thicke had no comment on the matter. However, their attorneys throughout the legal battle have stated that a guilty verdict would "chill musical creativity and inhibit the process by which later artists draw inspiration from earlier artists to create new popular music."
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