Robin Thicke Files Lawsuit Against Marvin Gaye Family Following ‘Blurred Lines’ Drama

Published: Friday 16th Aug 2013 by David

R&B hit maker Robin Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams have taken legal action against the family of ‘Hello Broadway’ icon Marvin Gaye, following a dispute over the former’s smash hit single ‘Blurred Lines’.

Find out why below!

Yesterday, a lawsuit was reluctantly filed by Williams and Thicke in California in response to claims by Gaye’s family that ‘Lines’ ‘felt’ and ‘sounded’ the same as the legend’s Art Stewart produced number ‘Got To Give It Up’.

Initially hoping to avoid taking legal action against the claims, the pair were reportedly left with no choice but to file the suit  when the family’s allegations of theft showed no signs of ending.

An excerpt from the suit reads:

“Plaintiffs, who have the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic and their musical legacies, reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists. Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs’ massively successful composition, ‘Blurred Lines,’ copies ‘their’ compositions.  “The Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else’s composition.”

Quite unfortunately, the Gaye family have threatened litigation in the event Pharrell and Robin do not pay them a monetary settlement, which is why- in hoping to nip the problem in the bud- the pair filed the suit.

This, as to prove that they did not imitate the performer’s work, and that his family “have no interest in the copyright to the composition ‘Got To Give It Up‘ anyway, hoping to debase their allegations.

Read their entire lawsuit here!

So, let us know…

What do you make of the claim?

Comments 54

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  1. LittleScheisse August 16, 2013

    I HATE ROBIN THICKES SONG. ITS ANNOYING BECAUSE ITS SO POPULAR BUT DOESNT LIVE UP TO THE PRAISE. BUT HEY HES SLAYING SOOO…

    • Ciara (The Voice) Harris August 16, 2013

      His song is outselling Gagas in the US

      • LittleScheisse August 16, 2013

        I KNOW! IM PISSED! LOL BUT CIARA ISNT ANYWHERE TO BE FOUND SO.. YOU CANHAVE A SEAT WITH WHISPERARA B****!

    • JJFan1814 August 16, 2013

      So you hate a song because it’s popular????? Oh my.

    • LittleScheisse August 16, 2013

      K.MICHELLE IS OUTSELLING UR FAVES FIRST WEEK SALES. THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES H**! THE ONLY WAY CIARA COULD GO GOLD IS IF SHE DIES

      • Kimbella August 16, 2013

        You needed calm down Ciara is better than k.michelle lady flopga

    • Slayty Perry (ROAR) August 16, 2013

      You only hate it cause it snatched Applause’s spot.

      • kat deluna *pop princess* August 16, 2013

        Yaaaaaas f*** Gaga lame ass

      • FAF August 16, 2013

        LOL @ Ciara (The Voice) harris troll much ? 😆

        U girrals stir the same things up daily, get a life

        and the album (IDGAF if it sold 4 copies) her WW sales from her debut still s*** on mostly everyone mentioned in this thread

        Now, moving along……..

        Why the F*** is Robin suing M.G’s family because they’re scared he might gets sued ? 😆 I can’t

        & yes this sounds JUST like Got to Give it Up I’ve been saying that since it came out…

        #NEXT

      • LittleScheisse August 16, 2013

        B**** I WILL BE THE FIRST TO SAY APPLAUSE FLOPPED. I AM NOT PRESSED ABOUT THAT! SHE WILL SLAY HER VIDEO AS WELL AS HER VMA PERFORMANCE B****! TF. KATY PERRY STOLE THAT ENTIRE SONG FROM SARA SO GOODNIGHT/AND GOODBYE! PLUS APPLAUSE PROMO DOESNT OFFICIALLY START UNTIL MONDAY. DONT SPEAK TOO SOON… THE RAFT OF GAGA HASNT EVEN BEGUN YET. THIS UPCOMING WEEK SHE WILL HAVE THE PROMO THAT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR HER

    • 2conscious August 17, 2013

      Geez, it’s not about who’s “slaying”. The problem is very simple: Robin Thicke was grinding for nearly a decade, and he has a GLOBAL HIT BECAUSE OF A BLACK MALE LEGEND. I can always tell who actually knows their music and who doesn’t. YOU DON’T GET FAMOUS OFF THE WORK OF A LEGEND AND NOT PAY HIS FAMILY ROYALTIES. PERIOD. The irony is: he skyrockets to fame off of black music AND A BLACK MALE….but, he plays his “white status” when it’s time to pay up. This is why I don’t like that “yo, yo, yo…” crap when it comes to others imitating my culture.

      At the end of the day, they know when to turn it off and on.
      Justin Timberlake is an IMAGE created to mimick black culture. HOWEVER, when HE (not Janet—JUSTIN) pulled Janet’s bra, this country focused on HER, not him! AND, they pulled her songs and videos out of rotation. Oh, but not Justin!! I’m so sick of people pretending to be “hip” and “cool” when they’re just exploiting us. Don’t DARE use a legend like Marvin Gaye, if you’re not gonna pay his family. ANY FOOL CAN HEAR THAT’S MARVIN’S SONG. I said it—immediately—the FIRST time I heard the song. As soon as you hear Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” you KNOW that’s “Under Pressure”, by Queen. Unless, of course, you know nothing about music.

  2. Ciara (The Voice) Harris August 16, 2013

    Omg controversy

  3. S****** Blonde August 16, 2013

    Money they want.

    • ABC August 16, 2013

      Duh. You sample, you pay!

      • Goppit August 16, 2013

        It wasn’t a sample…

    • STONY August 16, 2013

      F*** YOU RACIST PIECE OF S*** ANYTIME YOU COMMENT HERE I JUST WANT TO SNAP YOUR NECK AND POK YOUR EYES PEOPLE LIKE YOU DISGUST ME

  4. Daniel Teflon August 16, 2013

    I do hear that Blurred Lines is done on the same beat its kinda annoying when A legend is beat jacked but I hope they figure out what is right through Marvin Gaye’s Jam!! I still go in for Got 2 Give It Up!!

  5. twerk 4 Miley August 16, 2013

    The struggle the family tryna get shine off Robins success

    • R&B fan August 16, 2013

      the struggle of ROBIN

      THICKE ADMITTED THIS WASA MARVIN SONG TO HIGHSNOBIETY / COMPLEX MEDIA
      How did that track come about, working with Pharrell?

      We’d been recording for a couple days, we made a couple other songs and then I wanted to do something like Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” which is one of my favorite songs. Pharrell started messing with the drums, and an hour and a half later the whole record was done. It was pretty dope.

  6. ABC August 16, 2013

    So he’s trying to claim that the song does NOT sample GTGIU? When I first heard the song, it was the first thing I thought of!

    • ~The Arcade~ August 16, 2013

      Right! I genuinely thought it was a Marvin Gaye sample :/

  7. YouDoRealize… August 16, 2013

    The family wants the money. Cause if Robin didn’t blow up they wouldn’t care. Funk is a genre. Just because he was successful doesn’t mean everything is sampled.

  8. Bolo August 16, 2013

    ya’ll still don’t get that H20 and Pop Royalty are the same f**?! the same writing style and use of smiley faces. plus the same two faced b*******. so obvious.

  9. Cashimre August 16, 2013

    Wells that’s why artist need to make sure there stuff is more original than so much sampling cause a lot of law suit would be more prevented or than or the hit receive money than they ready to sue great song by the way

  10. Kimbella August 16, 2013

    No remembers that old s***

    • Phillip Phillips stan August 16, 2013

      Speak for yourself 10 year old

  11. Phillip Phillips stan August 16, 2013

    Oh no Pharell are you being a crook? Pay up because BL definitely samples Marvin!!!

  12. Mark111 August 16, 2013

    It has a GTGIU style, but in no way it sampled nor sound exactly like it. In that case, every song in it’s genre can sue cause it sounds like the next. They’re just trying to get money. That’s like the Jacksons trying to sue JT and CB cause their songs sound like Off The Wall rejects. Next!

  13. Chardonnay Pitts August 16, 2013

    Vanilla Ice all over again….even my 48 year old mom thought it was a GTGIU sample

  14. Slayty Perry (ROAR) August 16, 2013

    Smh. If this song flopped like all of Robin’s other songs they would have no f**** to give. But because Blurred Lines is one of the biggest songs of the year and so far the decade they want to cash in. Its pathetic. There are similarities but no where near enough to sue over.

    • Mary Mary Why You Buggin’ August 16, 2013

      That’s rich coming from a Katy Perry fan.

      *plays ‘BRAVE’ *

  15. Tallb August 16, 2013

    if it wasn’t that succesfull nobody would have said anything. of course there is a resemblance but if we look at everything this way gaga and some other should have been sued many many times…

  16. BitchICan’tEvenSpellWelfare August 16, 2013

    I’ve been a Robin fan since the “A Beautiful World” album but he DOES owe royalties for that song–sorry.

    “Got To Give It Up” is a classic, distinct song & Robin & Pharrell borrowed HEAVILY from it. Still a fan but right is right.

    Now, if only the far superior song “Ooo La La” could go #1, I’d be extremely happy. 🙂

  17. FAF August 16, 2013

    It doesn’t f****** matter, you don’t get to use the same instruments & the same way & not have to pay his estate… yes they want money ! Why should this song go #1 for this many weeks and them not pay Marvin his proper due ? Y’all kill me

    • Mary Mary Why You Buggin’ August 16, 2013

      Exactly!!!!

      GTGIU is,literally, the blueprint for “Blurred Lines” and that’s not free–pay up!

      The people who are defending him are the main ones talking about how the music industry is a business when they try to defend the generic, overproduced music of their favs. Well……..this is business too.

  18. Dev August 16, 2013

    They may have not sampled (it sounds like they have) they need to pay for being “inspired” by the Marvin tune because i thought it sampled the song. “inspiration” seems to be all the rage these days

    • Charlie August 16, 2013

      Yep, they’re really trying a Beyonce and GaGa

  19. King August 16, 2013

    But it does sound just like it. That was the first thing I thought when I heard it.

  20. justo August 16, 2013

    Yes the music sounds alike and most likely was INFLUENCED by “Got to give it Up” but however, Anybody who is musically inclined can easily hear that the two songs are in two totally different keys, making “Blurred Lines” a completely different song. Dont get me wrong, if I was Pharrell I would’ve just threw the family some stacks before hand just to keep everything cool ukno. I would be VERY surprised if Pharrell n Robin lose this case.

    • Producer August 16, 2013

      Just because its in a different key doesnt mean its not sampled or doesnt contain elements from the Marvin tune.

  21. R&B fan August 16, 2013

    they interloped the marvin song …

    robin admitted the marvin influence… ROBIN’ JULY 2013 INTERVIEW WITH COMPLEX MEDIA ….

    How did that track come about, working with Pharrell?

    We’d been recording for a couple days, we made a couple other songs and then I wanted to do something like Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” which is one of my favorite songs. Pharrell started messing with the drums, and an hour and a half later the whole record was done. It was pretty dope.

    • Mary Mary Why You Buggin’ August 16, 2013

      Thank you for this!

      Anymore questions folks?

    • Dev August 16, 2013

      And there you go, case closed! You done did it to yourself

  22. Brazilian Beyonce!!! August 16, 2013

    Thirsty for Robins success I see yall

    • Unique August 16, 2013

      They are nowhere near broke honey. They want what’s RIGHTFULLY theirs. Do you blame them?

  23. Slick August 16, 2013

    They Deserve a Check.

  24. DIGGER BEY August 16, 2013

    Bottom Line Is: NO Gots To Give It Up. NO Blurried Lines! NO Marvin Gaye. Probably NO Robin Thicke! #PAY UP

  25. Navy Nick August 16, 2013

    chile if this is the case, everyone in the business owes someone!!! PLEASE SHUT THIS LAWSUIT DOWN GAYE FAMILY-ya’ll must be struggling, see this man on his UP & trying to bring him down, PLEASE GO SOMEWHERE PLEASE!

  26. Laurie August 17, 2013

    So the main argument here is to say “If this song wasn’t a sucess the family would have not cared” but forgetting that the reason of this song being a sucess is that it samples an already established sucessful song that is Got to give it up by Marvin Gaye.
    There’s absolutely no credit to give to Thicke or Williams on this one sorry not even the lyrics lol. So pay the family and admit you sample nothing wrong with that just give credit to Marvin please.

  27. TheChefette August 17, 2013

    I thought they sampled Michael Jackson’s day and night for this song. The background sounds just like it I just think it’s similar to got to give it up but nit enough to sue

  28. what August 18, 2013

    whaaaat! It’s obviously influenced, I thought it had actually been directly sampled. Pharrell is my boyfriend but I can’t stand by this one.

  29. So what August 19, 2013

    The music in 90 % of hip hop tracks are a remix of someone else’s hard work. But we can’t have a white man doing now can we?

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