Looks like the saga of “Blurred Lines” Vs. “Got To Give It Up” will continue on for a while longer.
Despite an effort by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to have a lawsuit brought on by the estate of Marvin Gaye thrown out, a U.S. District Judge has ruled that there are striking similarities between Thicke’s monster 2013 hit and Gaye’s 1977 smash.
Pretty much since the song took off last year, Gaye’s family has contended that “Blurred Lines” was a reworking of “Got To Give It Up.” Interestingly though, it was Thicke and Williams who sued first in attempts to prevent the Gaye estate from suing them.
In their depositions regarding the songs, both Williams and Thicke come off as a bit hostile in their testimonies. It was during the deposition that Thicke admitted under oath that he essentially just showed up and sang, and was not a co-writer of the song as initially credited. After being forced to listen to a mashup of the song Thicke admitted to having difficult listening.
“It’s so hard to listen to it. It’s like nails on a f—— chalkboard,” Thicke said. “This is [like] Stanley Kubrick’s movie Clockwork Orange, where he has to sit there and watch. … Mozart would be rolling in his grave right now.”
The Hollywood Reporter quotes judge John Kronstadt as saying that Gaye’s estate has “made a sufficient showing that elements of ‘Blurred Lines’ may be substantially similar to protected, original elements of ‘Got to Give It Up.’ Defendants have identified these with particularity for purposes of analytic dissection.”
Judge Kronstadt has set the trial for Feb. 10, 2015.
