Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams will finally have to cough up the cash in the infringement lawsuit with Marvin Gaye’s estate for “Blurred Lines.”
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Back in 2015, a judge ruled in favor of Gaye’s estate, saying that Thicke and Williams stole several significant elements of Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got To Give It Up” for their 2013 hit with T.I. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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The ruling came with a $7.5 million fine for the “Blurred Lines” trio, but they quickly appealed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Now though, a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the 2015 verdict, in a split decision. While court’s majority ruled that the evidence in the case was sound, those who opposed felt the ruling sent a negative message to creatives and songwriters, as the songs are not “objectively similar.” ⠀⠀
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However, in the end, the court found T.I. not liable in the suit, but that Thicke and Williams will have to pay 50% of all royalties from the 2013 hit to the Gaye’s estate….forever.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.