Robin Thicke and Pharrell's Lawyers Are Seeking a New "Blurred Lines" Trial

The "Blurred Lines" team presented a new motion last Friday.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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After a jury ruled that Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I.’s “Blurred Lines” copied elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” the latest report says lawyers for the “Blurred Lines” creators are pushing for a new trial.

In a new motion presented last Friday, the “Blurred Lines” team told the judge that a do-over is necessary because of “errors in jury instructions, improper testimony from a musicologist and insufficient evidence to support a finding that "Blurred Lines" is truly substantially similar to "Got to Give It Up,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. They also found that the initial report was inconsistent because Tip was not found guilty in the lawsuit, even though the Gaye family wants to punish him now.

Their new argument is built upon the issue that the copyright should be based on the physical sheet music of “Got to Give It Up.” The jury made their decision based upon Thicke’s statement of how the “groove” and “feel” of the song influenced “Blurred Lines,” which aren’t elements included in the original sheet music.  If those weren’t taken to account, then the lawyers argue that it's "prejudicial and irrelevant" information. They also argued that since the basis of the lawsuit is sheet music, musicologist Judith Finell's opinion on the similarity of the sound recordings was “extremely prejudicial.”

The “Blurred Lines” lawyers also wanted to do something about the $7.4 million damage reward. They argued that since "the elements of [“Got to Give It Up”] claimed to have been copied amount to less than 5% of the [“Blurred Lines”] composition," the judge should reduce the damage award to under $680,000.

The Gaye family filed motions of their own on Friday, too. In one, they argued that Interscope Records, UMG Recordings and others labels should be held accountable. In another, they want to stop the distribution of “Blurred Lines” and seize works that contain components of the song. If they don’t get their requests granted, the Gaye family wants over 50 percent of all future songwriter and publishing revenues generated by "Blurred Lines.”

The judge will consider these motions in a new hearing on June 29.

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