Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' Unrated Video Causing More Problems for the R&B Singer

With his brand new album hitting the stands earlier this week, Robin Thicke continues to attract attention, and scrutiny, from all angles. The provocative music video for his smash single "Blurred Lines," after which the album is titled, has catapulted his career to new heights. Whether or not it's been a positive boost is up for debate. While the video caught the attention of viewers worldwide, many criticize Thicke for his decision to include naked models dancing around himself and fellow recording artists T. I. and Pharrell Williams. There's been a back and forth between the R&B singer and his critics since the video went viral and there's no end in sight.

While the majority of frustration and anger has been directed towards Thicke, the singer is now on the other side of accusations. On Thursday, Thicke, T.I. and Williams filed a lawsuit in California federal court against Marvin Gaye's family and Bridgeport Music, which owns a portion of Funkadelic's compositions, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

As the suit reads, "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. Defendant continue to insist that plaintiffs' massively successful composition, 'Blurred Lines,' copies 'their' compositions."

The suit, in brief summary, states that the Gay family is alleging that "Blurred Lines" and Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" "feel" and "sound" the same, and that "Gaye defendents are claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work." Funkadelic claims that "Blurred Lines" is too reminiscent of their song "Sexy Ways."

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

However, as Thicke previously stated, last summer, when he and Williams stepped into the studio to recreate a vibe captured in Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up," Thicke's favorite song of all time. Within the first hour, "Blurred Lines" was born.

"In the studio, Pharrell and I started jamming," Thicke said. "One of the first things Pharrell did was go, 'Hey, hey, hey!' and then we started having such a great time. We were dancing around the studio like old men. We were doing our old men barbecue dances."

At this point, the case could go in any direction. It lies at the core of Intellectual Property. As the details unfold, however, it will only fuel the song's success, further intriguing those who were originally roped in by it's racy and explicit video. Is all the controversy worth it? The answer is apparent.