Music industry insiders and journalists from all corners of the Internet are decrying the recent verdict in the "Blurred Lines" lawsuit, which states that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams owe Marvin Gaye's estate $7.4 million for similarities between the 2013 smash hit and Gaye's "Got to Give It Up," and the songwriters are not going to let it stand.
Yesterday (March 11), Thicke and Williams' lawyer Howard King said that he and his clients are looking to turn over the verdict, citing creative expression and the right to have influences in the music world.
"We owe it to song writers around the world to make sure this verdict doesn't stand. My clients know that they wrote the song 'Blurred Lines' from their hearts and souls and no other source. We are going to exercise every post trial remedy we have to make sure this verdict does not stand. We look at it as being in the seventh inning of a game that could go into extra innings," King said in an interview with Fox Business News (via The Hollywood Reporter).
The verdict stated that there were enough similarities between the two songs to create copyright infringement. The Washington Post pointed this out to mean that Gaye essentially owned a "vibe," creating a dangerous precedent for music. And King's clients are going to fight for the future of pop.
"Pharrell has readily admitted that Marvin Gaye is one of his idols, but it's silk and rayon," King said. "If this is the way the law is going to go, then the creator of rayon better look behind him for lawsuits from the owners of silk, because, even though they feel the same they are structurally, completely different just like these songs."
The lawsuit has already drudged up a ton of bad press for Thicke and Pharrell, from admitted drug use and infidelity to how much money they made off the No. 1 single.
No word on when the appeals process will begin. But, music fans better buckle up. It's going to be a long ride.
