In 2013, the pop track "Blurred Lines" hit the airwaves, courtesy of Robin Thicke and Pharell Williams — a song deliberately crafted to channel the vibe of a musical era long past. The problem? They channeled it a bit too convincingly. The estate of Marvin Gaye came forward with a lawsuit alleging that the duo had lifted key elements from Gaye's 1977 hit "Got to Give It Up."
Rather than back down, Thicke and Williams went on the offensive, filing a countersuit against Gaye's estate. Their argument was straightforward: the two tracks were plainly and obviously different, something they insisted anyone could recognize. Gaye's family, however, felt otherwise — they said the resemblance was apparent from the very first moments of "Blurred Lines." Plenty of fans and music critics agreed with that assessment. One individual even took it upon himself to layer the two songs on top of each other in a YouTube video that highlighted just how closely they matched. Beyond public opinion, the professional musicologist retained by Gaye's family identified eight distinct similarities between the tracks.
Making matters worse for Thicke were his own prior statements. He had openly admitted to borrowing from Marvin Gaye in the past, named "Got to Give It Up" as one of his all-time favorite songs, and acknowledged telling Williams that he wanted to collaborate on something inspired by it. The jury ultimately ruled in favor of Gaye's estate, handing down an award of $7.3 million — a sum representing nearly half of the total sales revenue "Blurred Lines" had earned up to that point.