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Robin Thicke: 'I know the difference between inspiration and theft'

Written by . Published: July 02 2015

Defiant Robin Thicke is determined to fight to clear his name over the Blurred Lines plagiarism spat, insisting he knows the difference between "inspiration" and "theft".


In his first full interview since he and collaborator Pharrell Williams were ordered to hand over more than $7 million to Marvin Gaye's children after a jury ruled the hitmakers had stolen parts of their father's 1977 hit Got to Give It Up for Blurred Lines, Thicke insists he'd never steal from another artist.


He tells The New York Times, "I know the difference between inspiration and theft. I'm constantly inspired, but I would never steal. And neither would Pharrell.


"Why would I want to, or have to, steal from anybody to make my music?"


Thicke, who is currently appealing the ruling from the copyright trial along with Williams, adds, "If the verdict holds up, I believe that it will have a ripple effect on the arts and the industry in general. I mean, if you made the first superhero movie, do you own the concept of the superhero?"


And he believes there is a better example of song melody nabbing in Sam Smith's 2014 hit Stay With Me, which the Brit has accepted sounds a lot like Tom Petty's Free Falling.


Thicke states, "Those songs are the same - the same notes, on the same timing, in the same rhythm. The two songs are exactly the same."

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