Los Angeles (CNN) -- Robin Thicke's summertime hit "Blurred Lines" is an illegal rip-off of Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up," Gaye's children claim in court documents filed Wednesday. Fans, journalists and music experts immediately recognized similarities between Gaye's 1977 hit and the 2013's summertime smash, Gaye's heirs contend. The controversy is a high-stakes legal fight involving an alleged conflict of interest with Sony-ATV, the music publisher half-owned by Michael Jackson's estate. Gaye's heirs not only accuse Thicke and "Blurred Lines" co-writers Pharrell Williams and "T.I." Clifford Harris Jr. of copying Gaye's song, but they also contend Sony-ATV failed to meet its responsibility to protect the copyright.
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Gaye family also contends Thicke's "Love After War" copied Gaye's "After the Dance"
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Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and rapper T.I. recorded the summer smash
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Musicologist report identified eight similarities in the two songs, counterclaims says
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Family suggest Thicke has "Marvin Gaye fixation"
Maybe that's because it was originally a Marvin Gaye song ("@placeholder") and Marvin Gaye is ...