Robin Thicke And Pharrell Williams Settle “Blurred Lines” Lawsuit

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams are settling a 2013 copyright lawsuit over their hit song, Blurred Lines.  The suit was filed by the family of the late singer Marvin Gaye, who argued that Blurred Lines was too similar to Gaye’s 1977 hit, Got to Give It Up.  Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay the family over seven million dollars in damages in 2015, and the amount was later lowered to just over five million, but the two appealed the verdict.  A judge has now ordered them to pay up just under five million, divided between Williams, Thicke, and Williams’ publishing company.  The Gaye family is also entitled to half of the royalties from Blurred Lines from here on out.

The lesson here, if you’re gonna sample, ASK FOR PERMISSION.