Deliberations resume in ‘Blurred Lines’ trial

Jurors resumed deliberations Tuesday in the trial of a federal copyright infringement case in which the children of Motown great Marvin Gaye allege that their father’s 1977 “Got to Give It Up” was the blueprint for pop hit-makers Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s global chart- topper Blurred Lines.”

The eight-member civil panel concluded its first full day of closed-door discussions in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.

At the time the Gaye song was copyrighted nearly 40 years ago, only written music — not sound recordings — could be registered with the copyright office.

During two weeks of trial, jurors heard “Blurred Lines” compared to the sheet music of “Got to Give It Up” played by a professional keyboardist in various pre-recorded configurations.

As the panel deliberated this morning, jurors submitted a question, asking about differences between the registered copy of the 1977 tune versus the sheet music used by session musicians. The panel then resumed deliberating.

“Any of us are free to build on ‘Got to Give It Up’ — as long as we don’t copy the notes of ‘Got to Give It Up,”‘ Thicke attorney Howard King said in his closing argument. “The Gaye family doesn’t own a genre or a groove.”

Richard Busch, retained by the Gayes, countered that Williams and Thicke intentionally created their multimillion-selling 2013 hit as an updated copy of the disco-tinged “Got to Give It Up.”

If the jury unanimously finds that it is “probably true” that “Blurred Lines” co-writers Thicke, Williams and rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr. — and various entertainment companies involved in publishing, marketing and distributing the song — infringed the Gaye copyright, damages must be decided. The result could be worth millions of dollars to heirs Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III.

The two songs share “feel — not infringement,” Williams testified last week.

The Gaye heirs are seeking a portion of the nearly $16.5 million in profits “Blurred Lines” has reaped since its release two years ago.

Evidence read into the court record shows that Thicke and Williams each earned more than $5 million from the success of the disc, while Harris — who got a co-writing credit due to his rap part added late in the recording — made more than $700,000.

Although jurors have seen the “Blurred Lines” video and heard the song, they must consider only the chords, melodies and lyrics of the songs, rather than production elements of the recordings.
—City News Service