Robin Thicke and Pharrell Must Hand Over $5.3M to the Family of Marvin Gaye

California Circuit Court Judge John A. Kronstadt affirmed the ruling he made three years ago, ruling that music artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were to pay the estate of Marvin Gaye for infringing on the singer’s song. The court found that Thicke and Williams committed copyright infringement with their 2013 song Blurred Lines. The new opinion lowered the amount owed to $5.3 million and also included a breakdown of the payments required by the two men.

Thicke, Williams, and the publishing company that released the song will be responsible for $2.9 million of the fine and Thicke will solely be required to pay an additional $1.7 million. Williams and the publishing company will pay the remain $357,631. The estate will also have the right to 50% of the royalties from the song.

After jurors found for Gaye’s estate in 2015, the legal teams of Thicke and Williams “went on a public relations campaign … criticizing the verdict and saying the evidence did not support the finding of copyright infringement, and did not believe the decision on liability would therefore stand,” said the family’s attorney after the new opinion. At the initial trial, rapper T.I. was found to not have committed copyright infringement, though he claims a songwriting credit with the song.

See Chris Spargo, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Must Hand Over $5.3M to the family of Marvin Gaye and Split Blurred Lines royalties with the Singer’s Estate After Ripping off his Song Got to Give It Up, Daily Mail, December 13, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.