Pharrell can finally put the legal battle with Marvin Gaye’s estate to rest
A judge has determined that the producer didn’t commit perjury during his deposition. The lawyer of Gaye’s estate cited an interview from GQ where Pharrell had stated he “reversed engineered” Gaye’s song “Got To Give It Up.” In the deposition, Pharrell had said he, “did not go in the studio with the intention of making anything feel like, or to sound like, Marvin Gaye.” The judge ruled there was no evidence that Pharrell perjured himself, “The statements by Williams during the November 2019 Interview were cryptic and amenable to multiple interpretations. For example, it is unclear what Williams meant by ‘reverse-engineer[ing].’ Read in context, Williams statement about ‘reverse-engineering’ could be interpreted as a process in which he remembers his feelings when listening to particular music, and then attempts to recreate those feelings in his own works,” U.S. District Court Judge John Kronstadt wrote in a statement. The Gaye family had been seeking $3.5 million in attorney fees which was denied by the judge, however, they did receive damages and half of the royalties from “Blurred Lines” due to copyright infringement.
