In an open letter “from the children of Marvin Gaye,” the singer’s family says that Gaye would have supported their decision to seek justice in the “Blurred Lines” trial. “If [Gaye] were alive today, we feel he would embrace the technology available to artists and the diverse music choices and spaces accessible to fans who can stream a song at a moment’s notice,” the Gaye children wrote. “But we also know he would be vigilant about safeguarding the artist’s rights. He also gave credit where credit is due.”
Earlier this week, the Gaye family officially filed an injunction preventing the sale of “Blurred Lines.” “We’ll be asking the court to enter an injunction prohibiting the further sale and distribution of ‘Blurred Lines’ unless and until we can reach an agreement with those guys on the other side about how future monies that are received will be shared,” Gaye family attorney Richard Busch told Rolling Stone last week.
The Gaye family lost a similar “Blurred Lines” trial against Universal, the song’s owner and distributor, creating an odd situation where one jury found that “Blurred Lines” infringed on Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” resulting in a $7.3 million verdict, while another jury decided that no infringement took place. This subsequently prevented the Gaye family from earning future royalties through Universal and necessitated an injunction to attempt to come to a settlement.
Despite the importance of the “Blurred Lines” case industry-wide and the apparent lack of a firm decision between juries, an appeal by Thicke and Williams could just as easily end up reversing the $7.3 million judgment and restoring the creative balance. However, Pharrell tells The Financial Times there are no definitive plans to appeal at this time. “We’re working out our next steps right now,” Williams said.