Yahoo News Marvin Gaye Family File Blurred Lines Lawsuit
Two of Marvin Gaye's children have sued Robin Thicke and his collaborators on Blurred Lines, saying the hit song infringes on their father's copyright.
Nona Marvisa Gaye and Frankie Christian Gaye say the single copies elements of Gaye's song Got to Give It Up.
They are seeking to block Thicke, as well as fellow songwriters Pharrell and TI, from using elements of their father's music.
The lawsuit also accuses Thicke of improperly using Gaye's song After the Dance in his song Love After War.
The move was the latest development in a copyright battle over Blurred Lines, one of the year's most successful songs.
Thicke has denied copying Gaye's song, saying Got to Give It Up was an inspiration but nothing more.
He and his co-writers had filed a preemptive lawsuit in August asking a federal judge to rule that the singers did not copy Got to Give It Up for their hit.
The Gaye family lawsuit also accuses the music company EMI of failing to protect their father's legacy.
It says EMI should have pursued a copyright infringement claim, and also alleges the company's executives used intimidation to try to stop the Gaye family from pursuing a lawsuit.
The suit claims EMI has allowed a conflict of interest between the family's rights and the profits it is earning from Blurred Lines sales.
Sony-ATV, which owns EMI, said it takes "very seriously" its role of protecting its songwriters'' works from infringement.
"While we have not yet seen the claims by the Gaye family against EMI, we have repeatedly advised the Gaye family's attorney that the two songs in question have been evaluated by a leading musicologist who concluded that Blurred Lines does not infringe Got To Give It Up," the company said in a statement.
Blurred Lines has enjoyed the longest spell on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart this year and has sold more than six million tracks so far.
But it was not just the song's success to make headlines this year.
The video, featuring virtually naked women, has drawn criticism from feminist groups, and Miley Cyrus stole the MTV Video Music Awards in August when she danced her now famous twerking moves during a performance of the hit song with Thicke.
