The singers are asking a judge to rule that their summer anthem 'Blurred Lines' does not copy elements from songs by Marvin Gaye and Funkadelic.
Sometimes, the best defense is an offense.
At least that's the strategy that Robin Thicke, T.I and Pharrell Williams seem to be taking with their summer pop hit Blurred Lines.
An attorney for Thicke and collaborators Williams and Clifford Harris Jr (aka T.I.) filed a lawsuit Thursday, asking a federal judge to determine that their song Blurred Lines does not copy elements from two older songs from Marvin Gaye and Funkadelic (George Clinton).
This comes after Marvin Gaye's family and Bridgeport Records' alleged claims against the singers that the song sounds remarkably similar to Gaye's Got To Give Up, demanding financial compensation for copyright infringement.
"Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work," the suit alleges.
Funkadelic, the George Clinton-led band that led the '70s funk movement, has also allegedly claimed similarity between Thicke's hit and Sexy Ways.
A copy of the suit obtained by The Hollywood Reporter reads:
"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. Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs' massively successful composition, 'Blurred Lines,' copies 'their' compositions."
