A Los Angeles federal jury found Tuesday that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up” when they wrote and recorded their hit song “Blurred Lines.”
The eight-person panel awarded Gaye’s heirs more than $7.3 million.
Williams and Thicke quickly issued an ominous warning through their reps, saying the verdict could have a chilling effect on future creativity.
"While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward," the statement issued through Williams’ publicist and the duo’s lawyer said.
"Pharrell created 'Blurred Lines' from his heart, mind and soul and the song was not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter,” it read.
“You haven’t heard the end of this by a long shot,” their lawyer Howard E. King told the Daily News after the verdict.
He confirmed Williams, 41, and Thicke, 38, are considering an appeal.
“They’re concerned that anybody who wants to create in a certain genre will run the risk of being sued by anyone else who already has created in that genre,” King said.
Gaye’s daughter Nona Gaye reportedly shed tears as the verdict was read Tuesday afternoon.
“Right now, I feel free,” she said afterwards, the Associated Press reported. “Free from… Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told.”
Gaye’s children, including Frankie and Marvin Gaye III, successfully argued that Gaye’s protected sheet music was infringed upon when Williams wrote "Blurred Lines" in about an hour in mid-2012 and then recorded it with Thicke in one day.
The wildly popular 2013 Grammy-nominated single earned Thicke and Williams more than $5 million each, jurors heard.
Both musicians testified in person at the trial that started Feb. 24. Jurors also heard recorded deposition testimony.
Williams told jurors that while he admires Gaye and may have channeled the “feel” of the R&B legend’s work, he didn’t steal from “Got to Give It Up.”
“I must have been channeling that feeling, that late-70s feeling,” Williams, who also serves as a judge on the hit NBC talent competition “The Voice,” testified, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Thicke, meanwhile, said under oath that he was under the influence and lying when he claimed in 2013 interviews that he directed Williams to write something inspired by “Got to Give It Up,” according to City News Service.
“I love Marvin Gaye. My clients love Marvin Gaye. But this is not about his voice, his character, his charisma. The question is whether ‘Blurred Lines’ is a copy of what he wrote in the sheet music. And it’s not,” King previously told The News.
The lead lawyer for Gaye’s children told jurors that “honesty” mattered.
He previously pointed out to The News that Thicke and Williams initiated the court battle when they filed their preemptive claim in August 2013 asking for protection.
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