Marvin Gaye’s Family Says There’s ‘No Claims’ Against Pharrell’s ‘Happy’

Marvin Gaye’s family has been in the news for a few months now over the legal battle concerning Robin Thicke and Pharrell’s song “Blurred Lines.” Now that they won the case, and will be awarded $7.3 million due to the ruling that the song was copyright infringement, it seems like it would be a case closed deal, right? Wrong.

Quickly following the judge’s ruling, rumors began to swirl that Pharrell’s song “Happy” was also up for a claim. It was said that the children of Marvin Gaye believed that it sounded very similar to the 1965 song “Ain’t That Peculiar.”

According to Hip Hop DX, despite multiple reports made about Pharrell’s “Happy,” Marvin Gaye’s family addressed this rumor in an open letter saying that they had no intention to file a copyright case against the popular song.

The family addressed the song “Happy” in a frank matter.

“We want to put to rest any rumors that we are contemplating claims against Pharrell Williams for his song, ‘Happy.’ This is 100 [percent] false. We have absolutely no claim whatsoever concerning ‘Happy.’ ”

Prior to discussing the song “Happy”, the late singer’s children, Nona, Frankie, and Marvin III, addressed the outcome of the “Blurred Lines” case.

“We want to extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude for the outpouring of love and support we have received from all of our father’s fans and friends, as well as artists and industry folks who contacted us surrounding the recent events concerning his song, ‘Got to Give It Up.’ ”

The most important part of the letter seemed to be the discussion surrounding what kind of precedent this ruling sets for the music industry.

“If Mr. Thicke and Mr. Williams had tried to create a new song and coincidentally infused ‘Got to Give It Up’ into their work, instead of deliberately undertaking to ‘write a song with the same groove,’ we would probably be having a different conversation.”

The open letter continued, “Our dad’s powerful vocal performance of his own song along with unique background sounds were eliminated from the trial, and the copyright infringement was based entirely on the similarity of the basic musical compositions, not on ‘style,’ or ‘feel,’ or ‘era,’ or ‘genre.’ His song is so iconic that its basic composition stood strong. We feel this further amplifies the soundness of the verdict.”

To read the whole open letter in full, click here.

What do you think about the outcome of the lawsuit?

[Photo by Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images]