Pharrell and Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines copied Marvin Gaye song, jury rules

The family of Marvin Gaye have been awarded $7.3m in damages after a US jury found Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied one of the star's songs to create 2013 hit Blurred Lines.

Gaye's children sued Thicke and Williams claiming their song had infringed the copyright of their father's hit.

The jury reached its verdict after hearing nearly a week of evidence about similarities between Blurred Line and Gaye's 1977 hit Got To Give It Up.

Credit: Marvin Gaye - Motown Records.

Pharrell and Thicke, who both testified during the trial, had denied the claims.

Blurred Lines earned more than $5 million apiece for Thicke and Williams. Although both are credited as its songwriters, Williams wrote the song in about an hour in 2012, and the pair recorded it in one night.

Marvin Gaye's daughter today paid an emotional tribute to her father after a jury ruled Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke had copied one of the star's hits.

Speaking outside court alongside her brothers Marvin III and Frankie, Nona Gaye said: "I love him and I miss him and we all do and this is a beautiful day for us."

Nona Gaye speaking outside court in the US

Also speaking outside court, Howard King, lawyer for Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, said he and his clients were "disappointed" at the ruling and insisted that the song was an "independent creation".