As punishment, Williams, Thicke and T.I. had to pay Marvin Gaye’s family $5.3 million in damages as well as 50 percent of the royalties earned from “Blurred Lines.”
The musicians are disputing the charge and have filed a brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief details that the initial ruling would be disastrous on the creation of new music.
“This outcome created international press coverage and widespread expressions of concern by members of the music community that, if left to stand, the ‘Blurred Lines’ verdict would chill musical creativity and inhibit the process by which later artists draw inspiration from earlier artists to create new popular music,” it reads.
The main thing the case is hinging on is that legally, a sound recording of “Got to Give It Up” should not have been admissible in court, as only the sheet music and composition of the song is copyrighted. Composition to composition, the musicians argue that the songs are entirely different.
Related: Gaye Family Asks for New ‘Blurred Lines’ Trial
Furthermore, music experts that testified at trial relied on the sound recordings as a basis for their testimony. The jury was then able to consider all that information in coming to a conclusion.
Read more to listen to the two songs and hear the comparison: