No one can copyright a musical genre, but that’s what Marvin Gaye’s surviving relatives seemed to believe when they sued Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. for $7.4 million last month.
After their court victory, the Gaye family began speculating about another of Williams’ songs “Happy,” according to Billboard. Nona Gaye, Marvin’s daughter, said it sounds a lot like Marvin’s song, “Ain’t That Peculiar.”
It is clear that the beat of “Blurred Lines” is reminiscent of Gaye’s song, “Got to Give it Up,” and both songs feel like they have their roots in the late 70s, but the ultimate sound and lyrics are completely different.
However, this musical case did not play out well in court for present-day singers Thicke, Williams and T.I., when the jury determined that the song they created and produced was a case of copyright infringement.
During the trial, the jurors didn’t listen to the full songs because of laws limiting a song’s representation in court to sheet music composition only, according to the LA Times. If the jurors had been able to actually listen to the two songs, they may have decided the case differently.
Also, there are plenty of artists who, in the past, have respected the music of others without appropriating their creative juices.
The more modern song was an inspiration, not a complete duplicate. Back in a 2013 interview with GQ magazine, Thicke said he remembered a conversation with Pharrell where they said they should make music with a similar groove to Gaye’s — Thicke’s favorite artist.
“The whole thing was done in a couple hours—normally, those are the best ones,” Thicke said in the interview. “[Williams] and I would go back and forth where I’d sing a line and he’d be like, ‘Hey, hey, hey!’ We started acting like we were two old men on a porch hollering at girls.”
The lyrics of the songs in question are completely different. In “Got To Give It Up,” Gaye wants to let loose at a party where he feels shy, whereas “Blurred Lines” is a song about a man trying to pursue a woman.
The case didn’t end well for Williams, Thicke or T.I, but their attorney, Howard King, brought up an important point when he said at the trial, “ . . . No one owns a genre or a style or a groove. To be inspired by Marvin Gaye is an honorable thing,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Though the Gaye family is not yet considering more legal action against Williams, they should never have been able to in the first place.
Music from the past should be used to inspire the artists of today to create something new without the fear of a copyright infringement lawsuit.