LOS ANGELES (AP) – A ruling upholding a copyright infringement verdict against Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke and rapper T.I. over their hit song “Blurred Lines” will be appealed, a lawyer for the entertainers said.
Attorney Howard King wrote in a statement late Tuesday that the musicians independently created “Blurred Lines,” which was 2013’s biggest hit song. The men had been sued by Marvin Gaye’s children over the song, claiming it copied their father’s 1977 hit, “Got to Give It Up.”
A jury agreed in March and awarded the family nearly $7.4 million, but U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt trimmed the verdict to $5.3 million on Tuesday. He also ruled that Gaye’s family should receive future royalties from “Blurred Lines.”
Jurors found that T.I., who received songwriting credit and a share of the royalties, did not commit copyright infringement, but Kronstadt ruled Tuesday that other elements of the jury’s verdict mean the rapper must be included in the judgment.
“Pharrell, Robin and T.I. independently created every note and lyric of ‘Blurred Lines,'” King wrote. “We look forward to ultimately obtaining appellate confirmation that no one can own a genre or a groove and that composers can be free to be inspired by the works of those creators that came before them.”