Pharrell Williams And Robin Thicke Lose First Round Of ‘Blurred Lines’ Lawsuit

Billed as one of the biggest allegations of song theft ever by Billboard Magazine, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams have lost their first round against the Marvin Gaye estate.

Earlier this year, the two musicians were accused of stealing parts of Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up” for their massive hit “Blurred Lines.” The duo responded by filing their own lawsuit after receiving threats from Gaye’s family. Shortly after the Gaye’s filed a countersuit, claiming that Thicke had a “Marvin Gaye fixation,” in addition to stealing music from the estate.

A California judge recently ruled that the songs may actually be substantially similar to one another.

U.S. District Judge John Kronstadt denied Thicke and Williams’ motion for summary judgement last Thursday, citing that there was enough evidence to move forward with the Gaye family’s claim. He wrote in his disposition that the “defendants have made a sufficient showing that elements of ‘Blurred Lines’ may be substantially similar to protected, original elements featured in Marvin Gaye’s ‘Got To Give It Up'”.

In Judge Kronstadt’s ruling, he noticed how the songs’ two bass lines, keyboard parts, vocal lines, melodies and harmonies were nearly identical. With those factors in play, the Gaye’s Estate, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams will all be heading to court on February 10, 2015.

The Hollywood Reporter first broke the story last month when they obtained depositions stemming from April, which showcased bizarre revelations about the making of “Blurred Lines” from Thicke and Williams. In the statement, the son of TV dad Alan Thicke admitted that Williams wrote the song and that he was “high on Vicodin and alcohol” during studio time.

Even though Robin tried to take credit for penning the smash hit, he came out and said that he lied about the process of writing the song in previous interviews.

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly