The Gaye family will have to reach into their own pockets for the attorneys they hired to take their “Blurred Lines” fight to a jury.
In March, U.S. District Court judge John A. Kronstadt tentatively ruled that he would not award legal fees to Marvin Gaye’s heirs, and on Tuesday he made it official, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The jury sided with the Gayes in March 2015, finding Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke’s hit “Blurred Lines” infringed on Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up,” and awarded the family $7.4 million.
Kronstadt later lowered the award back to $5.3 million in damages plus 50 percent of the song’s future royalties. He has now denied much of the $3.5 million in legal fees the Gayes wanted to add to their reward.
“The Gaye Parties have not shown that an award of attorney’s fees is warranted,” Kronstadt wrote in his decision. “Beyond the success on the merits, little else supports their position. This case presented novel issues. How they would be determined was not, even with hindsight, something that was clear.”
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