Marvin Gaye’s family ‘rejected six-figure sum’ from Robin Thicke to settle ‘Blurred Lines’ dispute

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams are now suing Gaye's family to protect their hugely lucrative hit single

Robin Thicke‘s legal team reportedly offered a six-figure sum to members of Marvin Gaye‘s family in order to nip a potential copyright dispute in the bud.

According to Billboard, Thicke’s offer came after Gaye’s three children accused Thicke’s transatlantic Number One hit ‘Blurred Lines’ of ripping off ‘Got To Give It Up’, a 1977 single by the late soul singer. However, the Gaye family are said to have declined the offer.

Thicke and the co-writers of ‘Blurred Lines’, Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris Jr, subsequently filed a lawsuit on August 15 to protect their hugely lucrative composition, requesting a ruling that ‘Blurred Lines’ does not plagiarise ‘Got To Give It Up’ and another track, ‘Sexy Ways’ by Funkadelic.

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Their lawsuit contends that “being reminiscent of a ‘sound’ is not copyright infringement” and also alleges that the “Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work”. Thicke, Williams and Harris Jr also want a confirmation that Gaye’s family don’t have a strong enough claim to ‘Got To Give It Up’s copyright to claim infringement, as well as a ruling that the song doesn’t violate any of the defendants’ rights.

‘Blurred Lines’ has also proved controversial due to its lyrics and video, both have which have been dubbed sexist. However, Thicke has insisted that the track is “respectful” and was designed to provoke a debate about relationships between men and women, as well as describing its video as a “feminist movement within itself”.

Blurred Lines’ has recently become the 137th single in the 60-year history of the British charts to sell over a million copies in the UK – and Vampire Weekend and Queens Of The Stone Age have both covered it.

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