Lawyers representing Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams returned to court to request a new trial in the ‘Blurred Lines’ case.
Back in March, a jury decided that Thicke and Pharrell copied elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1997 track ‘Got To Give It Up’ in their T.I.-featuring hit song ‘Blurred Lines’. Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay $7.3 million in damages to Gaye’s family.
Lawyers for the pair hinted following the original decision that they would seek an appeal. In a new motion presented to court on Friday, Thicke and Williams’ legal representatives argue that there were errors in jury instructions, improper testimoney from a musicologist and insufficient evidence in the original trial. They believe the jury was pushed into its decision with confusing instructions.
Thicke and Williams’ lawyers have requested a new trial and asked the judge overseeing the case to reduce the compensation due to the Gaye family to less than $680,000. The Williams’ camp wants the profits awarded to be reduced to no more than five percent of non-publishing profits as less than five percent of Marvin Gaye’s original composition is alleged to have been used in ‘Blurred Lines’.
The judge will consider the motions at a hearing on June 29. [via Billboard]