Judge Says Jury Must Decide on 'Intrinsic Similarity' Between Robin Thicke, Pharrell's 'Blurred Lines' and Marvin Gaye's 'Got to Give It Up'
A trial over a dispute over the smash-hit song "Blurred Lines," will begin next week.
A U.S. judge ruled that a trial is needed to determine whether Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' copied elements of the Marvin Gaye record "Got to Give It Up."
Federal Judge John Kronstadt rejected the request from Thicke and Williams to drop the plagiarism claims filed by Gaye's family last year. A jury will now decide on "the intrinsic similarity of the works." The trial will take place in Los Angeles, beginning Feb. 10.
Judge Kronstadt's ruling came after he reviewed analyses submitted by music experts who evaluated the similarities between the songs. Both sides hired experts to analyze the case.
Sandy Wilbur, a musicologist representing Thicke and Williams, said that the songs had different melodies, harmonies and rhythms. She added that only one note in the songs' key phrases had the same pitch and placement, but the note did not last for the same duration.
Meanwhile, Gaye family's expert, Judith Finell, pointed out eight similarities and said Wilbur had not been "microscopically analyzing" every musical element in isolation.
According to Judge Kronstadt, several of the signature phrases, hooks and vocal melodies are similar and there is a genuine dispute in the matter. In the jury's comparison, he said the analysis would be limited to sheet music, not the similarities heard between the songs while listening.
Howard King, Thicke and Williams' attorney, told The Associated Press that the judge's ruling was not surprising, but he is not worried how his clients would fare at trial.
"Since the compositions at issue are completely different, we remain confident of prevailing," King said.
The Gaye family hasn't publicly commented on Kronstadt's ruling, but they have also claimed that the late singer's song "After the Dance" was also improperly used in Thicke's track "Love After War."
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