Marvin Gaye's Family Declined Huge Settlement in "Blurred Lines" Suit
The lawsuit over the song of the summer just got a little hotter: Marvin Gaye's family reportedly turned down a six-figure settlement and have decided to continue with a planned lawsuit, believing that a court will find that "Blurred Lines" is a blatant ripoff of Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" (it kind of is).
Last week, Robin Thicke and the other "Blurred Lines" songwriters filed a preemptive lawsuit against the Gaye family, to try to pressure them to drop a planned lawsuit against the songwriters. Considering this came after the rejection of a sizable settlement, it seems like the Thicke camp also believes they might be found guilty of some level of infringement if the case goes to trial. The songwriters would like to clear up any lawsuits as quickly as possible so they can widely license the song to films, advertising, etc.
"We’re not happy with the way that he went about doing business, let alone suing us over something where he clearly got his inspiration from at the least," Marvin Gaye III said in an interview with TMZ.
In the lawsuit last week, Thicke argued that "being reminiscent of a 'sound' is not copyright infringement. The intent in producing 'Blurred Lines' was to evoke an era."