Robin Thicke suing Marvin Gaye's family to protect 'Blurred Lines'

In an effort to protect himself from a major lawsuit from one of his idols, singer Robin Thicke has filed a lawsuit against Marvin Gaye's family, as well as Funkadelic's record label, to protect his hit “Blurred Lines.”

The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the suit was filed in California federal court Thursday and also names Thicke's “Blurred Lines” collaborators – Pharrell Williams and Clifford Harris Jr. - as plaintiffs. The suit alleges that there have been complaints that “Blurred Lines” is similar to Gaye's “Got To Give It Up” and has similarities to Funkadelic's “Sexy Ways.” The suit was filed against Gaye's family and Bridgeport Music, which owns music by Funkadelic.

“Plaintiffs, who have the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic and their musical legacies, reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists. Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs' massively successful composition, 'Blurred Lines,' copies 'their' compositions,” the suit reads.

The suit notes that Gaye's family has said that “Blurred Lines” feels or sounds the same as aye's track. “Gaye defendants are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work.”

“But there are no similarities between plaintiffs' composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements,” the suit claims. “Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else's composition.”

Rather than wait for Bridgeport of the Gaye family to file a suit, Thicke and his collaborators are hoping that a court can determine the rights first.

Interestingly, George Clinton, who once led Funkadelic, tweeted support for “Blurred Lines.” He wrote, “No sample of #Funkadelic's 'Sexy Ways' in @RobinThicke's 'Blurred Lines' - yet Armen Boladian thinks so? We support @RobinThicke @Pharrell!”

“Blurred Lines” has been one of the most successful songs of the summer and the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

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