“Blurred Lines” vs “Got to Give It Up”

Williams v. Gaye, 885 F.3d 1150 (9th Cir. 2018)

Marvin Gaye’s estate alleged Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up.” The court found that “Blurred Lines” infringed Gaye’s copyright in “Got To Give It Up.” The court explained that the songs featured similar arrangements of percussion and bass elements although melodies were different. It further explained that “Got To Give It Up” was entitled to broad copyright protection because musical compositions were not confined to a narrow range of expression. The Gaye’s estate was awarded $4.9 million and half of all future royalties for “Blurred Lines”

The ruling became controversial, creating fear for songwriters and the music industry. Amidst the controversies, in 2019, the Gaye estate filed a motion accusing Williams of committing perjury during the case. The Gaye estate claimed that Williams said in his interview with GQ that “Got to Give It Up” and “Blurred Lines” had shared feelings and that he reversed-engineered Gaye’s song to create a similar feel while during the deposition Williams testified that he had no intention to make the song feel or like Marvin Gaye. The U.S. District Court Judge John Kronstadt did not agree with the Gaye estate’s accusation. The Judge did not find inconsistencies between William’s interview with GW and sworn statement during the deposition.