The 'Blurred Lines' Lawsuit Started Because Robin Thicke, Pharrell And TI Sued Marvin Gaye's Estate

It was the summer of 2013 and "Blurred Lines" was inescapable. It was also a simpler time and one that Robin Thicke and Pharrell might wish they had handled differently. As "Blurred Lines" was topping charts and rumblings of a potential lawsuit from Marvin Gaye's estate began to make headlines, Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. preemptively sued Gaye's estate. That lawsuit would ultimately land "Blurred Lines" in court and move a judge to rule in favor of Gaye's estate to the tune of $7.3 million.

That's right, Thicke and company sued Gaye's estate as a preemptive move to block a lawsuit from Gaye's family. Eriq Gardner, from the Hollywood Reporter, was there from the beginning and his initial reports provide great background on what led up to Tuesday's decision. "Plantiffs, 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," reads the introduction of the lawsuit that was obtained by THR. The lawsuit is in response to the allegations "Blurred Lines" copied Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" and Funkadelic's "Sexy Ways." The trio's lawyers argue that duplicating a "feel" or "sound" do not add up to copyright infringement.

"Plantiffs seek a judgment declaring the parties' respective rights with regard to 'Blurred Lines,' including a declaration that (a) 'Blurred Lines' does not infringe 'Sexy Ways' or otherwise violate Bridgeport's rights; (b) the Gayes do not have an interest in the copyright to the composition 'Got to Give it Up' sufficient to confer standing on them to pursue claims of infringement of that composition; or alternatively (c) that 'Blurred Lines' does not infringe 'Got to Give it Up' or otherwise violate the Gayes' right," reads the lawsuit.

Gardner called the lawsuit a "somewhat ingenious gambit: By suing over two allegedly similar songs, Thicke's lawyer Howard King implicitly argues that music can't be plagiarized from a duo of distinct tunes." There was also a report from Billboard that Thicke offered a "six-figure" settlement before the preemptive lawsuit.

Gaye's family filed a countersuit and "Blurred Lines" found its way to court. Along the way, there were interesting tidbits and reveals from depositions and court documents. Thicke admitted he was high on Vicodin and alcohol during the song's creation and that Pharrell "wrote almost every part of the song." Court documents also showed the song earned $16.7 million in profits -- $5.7 million went to Thicke, $5.2 million went to Pharrell, $704,774 went to T.I and the rest to record companies.