R&B star Robin Thicke has filed a preemptory lawsuit to protect his smash hit "Blurred Lines" from copyright infringement claims from two of Marvin Gaye's relatives who claim the single is a rip-off of "Got to Give It Up."
Thicke, along with the song's other two writers Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris Jr., filed suit Thursday in California federal court against Gaye's family and Bridgeport Music, which owns some of Funkadelic's compositions. "Blurred Lines" has also been accused of borrowing a little too much from the disco band's hit "Sexy Ways."
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"Plaintiffs, who have the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic, and their musical legacies, reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists," the suit said. "Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs' massively successful composition, 'Blurred Lines,' copies 'their' compositions."
According to the suit, Gaye's family is alleging that "Blurred Lines" and "Got to Give It Up" "sound" and "feel" the same. Bridgeport Music reportedly argued that there are "similarities" between the track and "Sexy Ways."
"There are no similarities between plaintiffs' composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements," the suit said. "Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else's composition."
Funkadelic's former front man George Clinton, who has long feuded with Bridgeport Music, has dismissed the claims of copyright infringement.
"Blurred Lines" is currently in its 10th week atop the Billboard Hot 100, making it summer's biggest song.
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