Robin Thicke and Pharrell to pay £4.8million in 'Blurred Lines' lawsuit

The family of Marvin Gaye win huge payout

Published 11th Mar 2015

A jury has ruled that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied Marvin Gaye with their song Blurred Lines - ordering the pair to pay $7.3m (£4.85m).

The eight-person panel reached the decision after hearing nearly a week of testimony about similarities between the biggest hit of 2013 and Gaye's 1977 song Got To Give It Up.

Gaye's children sued Thicke and Williams, saying their song infringed the copyright of their father's song, which the pair denied.

The late singer's daughter, Nona Gaye, wept as the verdict was being read and was hugged by her attorney, Richard Busch.

Blurred Lines earned more than $5 million apiece for Thicke and Williams.

Although both are credited as its songwriters, Williams said he wrote the song in around an hour in 2012, and the pair recorded it in one night.

An attorney for Thicke and Williams said a decision in favour of Gaye's heirs could have a chilling effect on musicians who try to emulate an era or another artist's sound.

The Gayes' lawyer said Williams and Thicke were liars who went beyond trying to emulate the sound of Gaye's late-1970s music and copied Got To Give It Up outright.

"They fought this fight despite every odd being against them," Mr Busch said of the Gaye family outside court.

Williams told jurors that Gaye's music was part of the soundtrack of his youth, but the seven-time Grammy winner said he did not use any of it to create Blurred Lines.

Gaye's children - Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III - sued the singers in 2013 and were present when the verdict was read.