It’s always tetchy when it comes to copyright infringement of musical elements. You could,on the one hand, argue that nothing is an original in the first place, and that every piece of music somehow borrows from others. But then again, there are some clear-cut cases of copycat music. This time we have two of Marvin Gaye’s children in the one corner, and Robin Thicke in the other.
They claim that ‘Blurred Lines’ mimics certain musical elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit ‘Got to Give it Up’. Their lawsuit seeks to block Thicke and his mates, Pharrell and T.I., from using elements of their father’s music in ‘Blurred Lines’ or other songs. They’re also miffed that music company EMI failed to protect their father’s legacy.
Things get dicey when you consider the amount of money EMI is making from Thicke’s song, which has spent the longest time this year on top of the the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has sold more than six million tracks. Nona Marvisa Gaye and Frankie Christian Gaye’s suit claims EMI, owned by Sony Music Entertainment, has allowed a conflict of interest between the family’s rights and the massive profits being made.
Is this a clear cut case – do Marvin’s children deserve some sort of repayment? You have a listen for yourselves.
Here’s Marvin:
And here’s Mr. Thicke and his mates:
Deal or no deal?
[Source : Huffington Post]
