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Mavin Gaye died in April 1994, leaving his children all the rights to the copyright of his music. The family of Mavin Gaye were awarded $7.3m (£4.8m) in damages. The song however, generated more than $16m (£10.8m) in profits and made more than $5m (£3m) for Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke.
Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke deny that the single copies Mr Gaye’s work with their lawyer stating that “While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward”
The legal representative of the Gaye family has asked for an injunction upon the distribution and further sale of track until an agreement can be reached about the monies to be received and shared.
In court, Pharrell Williams told the jurors that MarvinÂs music was a huge part of the sountrack of his youth, however he denies any involvement of the idea of his song during the writing process. However he did recognise that there was a likeliness of both Mavin GayeÂs and his song and he agreed he was Âchannelling that late 70Âs feeling when the song was co-written. Thicke on the other hand, affirmed that he had contributed little to the writing of the song….quelle surprise!
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