Robin Thicke's infectious hit "Blurred Lines" was inescapable last summer but the tide turned when Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams filed a preemptive lawsuit against the estate of Marvin Gaye in August 2013.
Aside from the two mentioning Gaye's influence in promo interviews and citing him as their inspiration during recording, they wanted to be sure to distance themselves from comparisons to "Got To Give It Up," which became inevitable among Gaye's fans.
"The only reason Defendants claim infringement here is because Plaintiffs made certain comments in promoting their record about being inspired by Marvin Gaye," states a motion filed by Williams' legal team, as reported back in July. "Defendants smelled money and rushed to make their infringement demand, but they chose to ignore that the songs had no similarity in actual notes or phrases."
Nona Gaye, Frankie Gaye and Marvin Gaye III promptly fired back filing a counterclaim in October 2013. On Monday, they submitted to the judge an audio mash-up that's meant to serve as "concrete musical illustrations of the substantial similarities" between the two songs.
According to TheGrio, Gaye's children hope to prove the songs are identical by laying Thicke's "Blurred Lines" vocals directly over the instrumental version of "Got To Give It Up."
Gayes' bid for summary judgment reads as follows.
"Not only was it, therefore, Thicke and Williams who actually 'smelled money,' but it was they who then played the role of bully by suing Marvin Gaye's children when the Gaye children had the temerity to question why their father was not credited, or why 'Got to Give it Up' was not licensed, betting that the Gaye children would not have the will or resources to fight this battle. Thicke and Williams bet wrong, and they will now have to face the consequences of their misjudgment and their blatant copyright infringement."
"They filed papers insulting the family of the great Marvin Gaye," Richard Busch, the Gayes' lawyer, said. "We responded with the facts and the law."
Stay tuned for updates.
