"Blurred Lines" has been an absolute smash hit this summer, and Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. have all benefited heavily because of it. Now, lawyers representing a bygone era have stepped forward to stake their claim on an issue of intellectual property rights.

Thicke, Williams, and rapper T.I. are all named as plaintiffs in a preemptive lawsuit against the family of Marvin Gaye and Bridgeport music. Those two parties have been alleging that Thicke and company copied from the classic songs "Got To Give It Up" by Marvin Gaye and "Sexy Ways" by George Clinton.

"The basis of the Gaye defendants' claims is that 'Blurred Lines' and 'Got to Give It Up' 'feel' or 'sound' the same," the lawsuit states. "Being reminiscent of a 'sound' is not copyright infringement. The intent in producing 'Blurred Lines' was to evoke an era."

The lawsuit comes as an attempt to head off any aggressive action by those representing either Clinton or Gaye. Thicke's lawyers insist that the artist was only trying to pay homage to the funk sounds of the seventies, and in no way were they stealing essential elements off of the songs.

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

"Blurred Lines" dominated the radio waves as well as the internet, with the uncensored edition of its music video quickly going viral. The song has garnered quite a fan following as it has topped the charts for much of the summer. Unsurprisingly, many of those fans have rushed to Thicke's side after news of the lawsuit.

"While there are similarities with this song and with Got to Get it On - the similarities are in spirit and feel, not in fact. They clearly knew both songs - have stated they wanted a similar sound - and they've tread closely to the line, but I don't think they crossed it. George Clinton doesn't think so either - and who would know better?" writes YouTube user kestrelco.

Below we've included the three songs in question, take a listen for yourself to see if there is a substantial amount of similarity between them. Let us know what you think and comment below.