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Marvin Gaye’s Family Might Sue Pharrell Again Over “Happy”

Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye

Not content to pocket $7.3 million from Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams—not to mention dramatically upend existing copyright law precedent—the family of Marvin Gaye is now considering targeting Pharrell Williams for another lawsuit, this time alleging that Pharrell’s recent hit “Happy” infringes on the copyright of Gaye’s 1965 song “Ain’t That Peculiar.”

In an interview with CBS News in which they discuss their recent court victory over Thicke and Williams, the family notes that while they are not currently planning another lawsuit, they consider “Happy” to potentially be infringing on Marvin Gaye’s work in a similar manner to how Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” infringed on “Got to Give It Up.” Nona Gaye, Marvin Gaye’s daughter, said of the resemblance between “Happy” to “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “I’m not going to lie. I do think they sound alike.”

This is just the latest episode in the long, litigious battle between the Gaye family and Thicke and Williams. Initially, Thicke and Williams preemptively sued the Gaye estate to prevent any claims of copyright infringement. The Gaye family responded with a suit of their own, which was recently involved in their favor. Moreover, there seems to be no end in sight to the litigation between the parties as the Gaye family is seeking an injunction to halt further sales of “Blurred Lines” while Thicke and Williams have vowed to appeal the ruling in that case.

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