Pharrell, Robin Thicke ordered to pay US$7m to Marvin Gaye heirs over 'Blurred Lines'

A US jury has ordered pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams to pay US$7.3 million in damages to the family of Marvin Gaye, ruling the pair copied his music in writing their 2013 mega-hit Blurred Lines.

The eight-member California panel, which had been deliberating since last week, found that the pop stars lifted parts of Gaye’s 1977 hit Got to Give It Up.

The Gaye heirs had sought a portion of the nearly US$16.5 million in profits that the hit party song has reaped since its release two years ago.

Evidence presented in court suggested that Thicke and Williams each earned more than US$5 million from the success of the record.

During the two-week trial, Williams said he understood why fans connected the two songs, but explained: “Soul music sounds like soul music ... I must’ve been channeling that late ‘70s feeling.”

The Gaye estate had said that Blurred Lines copied elements of the 1970s track. The two sides brought in music experts who dissected the structures of the two songs to debate the merits of the claim.

WATCH: The music video for Blurred Lines