Attorneys for Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams are pushing for a retrial in the case of "Blurred Lines" and its similarities to Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up." The original trial wrapped up during March, resulting in more than $7.4 million in payouts for the plaintiffs. Now the duo is suggesting to U.S. District Judge John Krandstadt that they should be given another shot in a courtroom due to errors in jury instruction and "improper testimony" from a musicologist.
The main basis for the retrial, and the argument that the jury was incorrectly instructed, stems from the judge's pretrial ruling that Gaye's copyright was limited to the sheet music, or actual written music from "Got To Give It Up." That ruling allows the jury to make decisions based upon both songs being played on a piano in the courtroom but they couldn't legally compare the recordings of the two songs.
However, during the trial, the jury was played a mashup of the two songs, an action that Williams' camp alleges was a violation of the previous ruling. The inability of the jury to hear the actual recordings side-by-side was considered to be the strongest point for team "Blurred Lines." If the argument is considered valid by Judge Krandstadt, which it very well could be, a new trial might be called for.
That said, even if the judge doesn't call for a new trial, the arguments made by the defendants could still have a positive impact for their party. The pair has been charged with paying $7.4 million to the Gaye Estate, as mentioned before, but if the judge decides that the decision was reached somewhat unfairly, he could lower the payout significantly.
The judge will consider both sides during oral arguments on June 29. Just like with the trial, it'll be a while before we find out if a second trial is called for.
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