The verdict
Cleared After Dispute
A fully litigated infringement finding for the Gaye estate, with a precisely documented damages trail ($7.4M jury award → reduced to $5.3M → an amended judgment of $2,848,846.50 joint + $1,768,191.88 Thicke + $357,630.97 Williams, plus 50% of ongoing royalties). T.I. was found not liable. The verdict itself is genuinely contested — dissenting Judge Nguyen called it “a devastating blow to future musicians” — and that controversy is presented, not smoothed over.
Quick Facts
Released2013
AlbumBlurred Lines
GenrePop, R&B, Funk
LabelStar Trak / Interscope Records
ProducerPharrell Williams
More infoWikipedia → · Discogs →
Who you need to ask
The songwriters of record — Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams & T.I. (T.I. found not liable)
Utexas → · checked Jul 2026
The Marvin Gaye estate — Awarded damages + 50% of ongoing running royalties
Rollingstone → · checked Jul 2026
Has it been reused?
The subject of one of the largest, most contested music-copyright judgments ever — the Gaye estate won on a shared “feel” with “Got to Give It Up” (a natural future companion page).
Do they allow reuse?
No standalone policy found; confirmed songwriters of record.
Related Songs
Same album, answer records, and songs worth knowing about
Shared the same 1976 deposit-copy evidentiary limitation (this batch)
Who Owns It
Licenses explained →The two permissions you need, and who holds them
The song itself (the writing)Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams & Clifford “T.I.” Harris Jr.
A precisely documented multi-stage damages trailAfter Thicke had publicly cited Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” as an influence, the Gaye estate (and separately Bridgeport Music) threatened suit; Thicke, Williams and T.I. filed a preemptive non-infringement suit. In March 2015 a jury found infringement based on a shared “feel” and awarded $7.3–7.4 million — at the time the largest ever in a music copyright case. The judge reduced it to $5.3 million. On appeal the Ninth Circuit upheld the verdict 2–1 (March 2018); the final amended judgment broke down to $2,848,846.50 owed jointly by Thicke, Williams and Williams’ publishing company; a further $1,768,191.88 from Thicke individually; and $357,630.97 from Williams and his publishing company — plus the Gaye estate awarded 50% of the song’s ongoing running royalties.
A genuinely contested verdictThe ruling remains widely contested in the music and legal community. Dissenting Ninth Circuit judge Jacqueline Nguyen directly, harshly criticized the majority, writing the two songs “differ in melody, harmony and rhythm” and that the ruling “strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere.” Scholars have noted the case may have expanded copyright protection beyond specific melodic copying into a song’s general “feel” — a significant, debated precedent. Presented as a contested verdict, not uncomplicated precedent.
The recording (current administrator)Not confirmed
Receipts
Every public mention of terms, policy, or past deals we've found
A notable evidentiary limitation at trial
Because of a pre-trial ruling, the jury could only compare the two songs based on Gaye’s original handwritten sheet-music “deposit copy” (filed with the Copyright Office in 1976, under the then-applicable law) rather than the actual recorded audio — the same limitation later noted on “Stairway to Heaven” (this batch).
Berkeley Law (The Network) · read it →
Can You Use It for Free?
How to check PD →Is it public domain?No
Sample History
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Times sampled
A landmark, contested copyright judgment
Covers
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First flip
Who to Contact
BL
Thicke, Williams & T.I.
The confirmed songwriters of record
MG
The Marvin Gaye estate
Awarded damages + 50% ongoing royalties
What they'll chargeNobody's shared numbers yet
Don't Want the Hassle?
Sample something pre-cleared insteadCheck Tracklib →
Find a similar sound that's 100% freeBrowse the catalog →
References
Every source cited on this page — 5 in total
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Page history · 2 updates
Jul 2026Page created — full research (Research Queue Batch 23)
Jul 2026BPM/Key pending the automated GetSongBPM/Deezer pass