In the Thicke of It: The Latest on Robin Thicke’s Legal Woes
posted in: Music News • Pop
He may have recently been honored as one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Entertainers of the Year, but Robin Thicke has spent a good portion of 2013 defending his hit song “Blurred Lines.” First, there were the (completely justified) claims that the song promotes rape culture and is derogatory to women. Then, of course, there are his legal troubles “ late Motown legend Marvin Gaye’s surviving family members claim that Thicke’s hit borrows a bit too much from Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.” Multiple suits and countersuits have been filed since August, making the legal action a little bit tricky to follow. That’s why we’ve compiled this handy timeline of each court claim filed by both Thicke and the Gaye family. After the jump, you can check out each track that allegedly steals from Marvin Gaye (spoiler alert: there are now four) to determine for yourself whether Thicke is guilty of infringing on the motown artist’s intellectual property.
Thursday, August 15: Knowing that Gaye’s estate plans to move forward with legal action if the “Blurred Lines” singer doesn’t compensate them for the song, Thicke, along with co-writers Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris Jr., take preemptive action and file a suit which states that Blurred Lines is starkly different from Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.” The lawsuit states, “The basis of the Gaye defendants’ claims is that ‘Blurred Lines’ and ‘Got to Give It Up’ ‘feel’ or ‘sound’ the same. Being reminiscent of a ‘sound’ is not copyright infringement.
Wednesday, October 30: Two of Gaye’s children “ Frankie Christian Gaye and Nona Gaye “ file a counterclaim alleging that Thicke not only stole from Got to Give it Up, but also infringed on Gaye’s song After the Dance in his track Love After War. According to the Gayes, Thicke actually admitted his guilt in prior interviews with GQ and Billboard. In addition, the family’s suit targets EMI. The publisher has ties to both Thicke and Gaye, and the countersuit alleges that the company both failed to protect Gaye’s songs and attempted to intimidate the family to avoid legal action.
Tuesday, November 26: The legal struggle takes an unexpected turn when Marvin Gaye III, the eldest of Gaye’s children, files a countersuit of his own. Gaye III wasn’t involved in the first countersuit, opting instead to hire his own lawyer and enter a separate claim. And, not to be outdone by his siblings, Gaye’s eldest son alleges that Thicke actually borrowed from four of his father’s songs. His suit aligns with the one filed by his siblings in claiming that Blurred Lines was copied from Gaye’s Got To Give It Up and that Love After War was taken from After The Dance. However, Gaye III’s suit also states that Thicke’s Make U Love Me infringes on Gaye’s I Want You, while Million Dollar Baby steals from Trouble Man. (It’s actually kind of hard to believe that none of the other Gaye children jumped on that final similarity; “Million Dollar Baby” is the most blatantly ripped off of the four.)
What do you think? Does Gaye’s family have a point about the similarities in these songs, or is Thicke in the clear? And just how many other relatives does Gaye have out there, ready to file a suit of their own? It could be months until the courts hand down a decision, but in the meantime, you can give these tracks a listen below to decide for yourself how the legal dispute will eventually play out.
“Blurred Lines” vs. “Got to Give it Up”
“Love After War” vs. “After the Dance”
“Make U Want Me” vs. “I Want You”
“Million Dollar Baby” vs. “Trouble Man”
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