Heirs of the late soul singer Marvin Gaye are overjoyed with the $7.4m (£4.91m) verdict announced on 10 March against recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams.

The US District Court jury in Los Angeles sided with Gaye's estate in the closely watched litigation, finding that parts of his 1977 hit Got to Give it Up were lifted by Thicke and Williams for their summer 2013 R&B chart-topper.

"Right now I feel free. Free from, honestly, free from Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told and the fact that we were able to break through anyway. And I'm really just happy, I'm so filled with emotion right now that it's hard to get the words out but this was a miracle," said Gaye's daughter Nona Gaye, who spoke on behalf of the Gaye family.

The defendants were not allowed to play Got to Give it Up in its entirety during the trial because the song was created and recorded in 1977, when songs could only be copyrighted with written notations known as deposit copies. They did, however, present excepts of the song that were annotated.

The jury awarded Gaye's heirs $4m in actual damages plus $3.4m in profits that Thicke and Williams were found to have derived from their copyright infringement of Got to Give it Up.

Thicke, Williams, and T.I. released a statement expressing their disappointment with the decision.

"While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward.

"Blurred Lines was created from the heart and minds of Pharrell, Robin and T.I. and not taken from anyone or anywhere else. We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter," read the statement.

The suit by Gaye's children cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their contention he had publicly admitted to drawing on Got to Give it Up when producing and recording Blurred Lines.

Williams, the producer behind the song, acknowledged in court that he had been a fan of Gaye's music since childhood, but said under oath that Blurred Lines and Got to Give it Up were similar in terms of genre only.

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