The producer(s) of the top hit song of summer 2013 are now being accused of liars, cheaters, and thieves. That is Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke, who have collectively produced the smash hit “Blurred Lines.”

Though the song had some quite questionable lyrics and theme, the song made a sensation and was everywhere. It was not long after when Marvin Gaye’s children filed a lawsuit claim claiming that the hit song copied materials from Mr. Gaye’s song “Got To Give It Up”, thus starting a copyright infringement case.

To go straight to the point, these two songs have no similarities. “Blurred Lines” did not specifically copy any part of the song. Or at least similarities that will make the producers pay $7.3 million.

Some interesting fact for the non-musical listeners: you can not copyright a rhythm, groove, or a chord progression. In this case, “Blurred Lines” merely shared the same groove with Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up.” Although both Thicke and Pharrell openly admitted that “Got To Give It Up” was an inspiration for the creation of the song, Thicke later denying that gave them a bad impression.

It seems that the jurors overlooked the factor of chord progression in music — which is frequently seen as a big part in popular music. Countless pop songs have the same chord progression of the I-V-vi-IV progress, thus resulting to being able to sing the same songs in the same four chords.

Even though there are similarities, there are hardly any lawsuits regarding a chord progression. That is because artists are smart enough to know that the same chord progression does not equal to copyright infringement. The plaintiff, Marvin Gaye’s family are now appealing the judge to punish the featured rapper T.I. and the label, which is just embarrassing to see. Needless to say, T.I. and the label had no affiliation in the production process of the song and should not be held accountable whatsoever. It is only getting obvious that Gaye’s daughter only seeks for that extra cash.

Lastly, it seems like a joke that the judge believes Pharrell, a multi-Grammy award winning singer, rapper, and producer needed to steal a content to make a hit song. Anyone who hears the hit songs he has produced in the past two decades will instantly know that his production has a distinct sound and is very original.

“People can’t be inspired by anything.” Pharrell opened up his opinions against the case in an interview. The artist also stresses that the idea applies to fashion, music, design, and everything. Pharrell believes that the entertainment industry will freeze in litigation when artists lose their freedom to get inspired.

And he is more than just right. Over the course of decades, every genre of music has been inspired by one another, creating new sounds. By the jurors’ logic, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube can sue rappers who inherit the style of gangsta rap, and so on. The case may set a bad example for present and future songwriters, putting them in the fear of getting sued for million dollars; just by getting inspired by others.

Watch Pharrell’s interview here: http://www.thefader.com/2015/03/20/pharrell-thinks-the-blurred-lines-verdict-was-based-on-emotion