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A day after the judgment, attorney Howard King said Thicke
and Williams remained adamant that "Blurred Lines" was an
original song created solely by them, adding that jurors were
apparently convinced otherwise by expert testimony which should
have been inadmissible.
The U.S. District Court jury in Los Angeles sided with Gaye's
heirs on Tuesday in finding that parts of his 1977 hit "Got to
Give it Up" were lifted by Thicke and Williams for their 2013
R&B chart-topper.
The jury awarded Gaye's children $4 million in actual damages
plus $3.4 million in profits that Thicke, 38, and Williams, 41,
were found to have derived from their copyright infringement.
The case, which explored the sometimes fuzzy boundary between
artistic inspiration and theft, marked one of the
highest-profile musical plagiarism lawsuits since George
Harrison's rock ballad "My Sweet Lord" was found to have been
copied from the Chiffons' hit "He's So Fine."
Despite magazine interviews in which Thicke had admitted to
drawing from the feel of "Got to Give it Up" when composing
"Blurred Lines," he and Williams have insisted they never copied
from Gaye's song itself.
"Based upon their own feelings that they created 'Blurred Lines'
from their own hearts and souls and no one else, and based on
feedback from other prominent songwriters, (Thicke and Williams)
feel they owe it to the creative world to make sure this verdict
does not stand," King said.
King said he would seek a retrial if the judge denies a motion
requesting the verdict be set aside. Otherwise, King said,
Thicke and Williams would appeal the judgment.
King cited as grounds for contesting the verdict expert
testimony given by a musicologist that he said compared "Blurred
Lines" with "Got to Give it Up" based on elements of Gaye's song
that were absent from the original sheet music.
At the time of its copyright, only the written music could be
registered as protected, not sound recordings. "Clearly the jury
relied on what that expert said in reaching their conclusion,"
King said.
The Gayes' lawyer, Richard Busch, could not immediately be
reached for comment. On Tuesday, he said they would seek a court
injunction against further distribution of "Blurred Lines" based
on the verdict.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
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