On Dec. 9, Marvin Gaye and his family filed motion, accusing American singer and songwriter, Pharrell Williams, of perjury. This legal incident occurred due to the release of pop song “Blurred Lines” by Williams.
When Williams spoke with magazine, GQ, he mentioned how he uses reverse engineering, when he begins a session, in regard to a feeling he might get from a certain song. Williams, states this is the approach he used when he wrote “Blurred Lines”, resulting in him getting in trouble.
“I did that in ‘Blurred Lines’ and got myself in trouble,” Williams said.
Previously in 2015, Williams mentioned in his testimony, when he and fellow singer-songwriter, Rob Thicke, were ordered to pay $7.3 million to Gaye’s estate for copyright infringement, that he did not go into the studio with any intention to make anything feel, or sound like, Gaye.
In the new motion filed by the Gaye family, they have requested U.S. District Court Judge, John Konstadt, to revisit the case, based on the grounds the information that Williams has disclosed, might have left to a different initial verdict, and for the revaluation of the Konstadt’s decision to deny the family of compensation for several millions of dollars in attorney fees.
“Nothing was more central to this case than whether “Go To” or Marvin Gaye was on Williams’ mind while he was engaged in creating “Blurred Line,” The motion reads. “The fact was central to the issue of whether Williams and Thicke illegally copied “Go To”, and whether their copying was willful, and they knew it.”
The family has previously attempted to prove their claim of William’s inconsistency, but was denied by Konstadt. With the new motion, the Gaye family is hopeful the judge will see their side differently, and award the family with approximately $3.5 million in legal fees.
“It is not uncommon for those promoting a new song or creative work within the entertainment industry to seem to attract attention that will be conveyed to potential consumers,” said Konstadt. “This may result in increased sales of the work, and greater attention to the artist.”
Williams released his new collaboration track, with Chad Hugo, “Letter To My Godfather,” earlier this year in June. He recently played a concert at the AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, TX, on Nov. 2.
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
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