Marvin Gaye's son is taking legal action over TV show 'Empire'

Marvin claims to have registered a treatment on a show called 'Diamonds & Ballads', aka 'Those Sons of Riches!', with the Writers Guild of America in 2010, with the proposed drama pitched as "a music based 'black' and 'hip' version of 'Dynasty' ... with a little 'Sopranos'."

When he shopped the proposal round to TV ex ecutives, Marvin told them it was loosely based on his own family, as well as Motown producer Berry Gordy and his loved ones, and he claims some of the people he approached were associates of Lee.

Marvin believes the 'Empire' boss previously unwittingly confessed to stealing the idea after the show made it big.

Drawing comparisons to 'The Sopranos', Lee said last year: "I wanted to make a black 'Dynasty.' "

He is now planning to file a lawsuit for an unspecified sum.

His lawyer said: "We understand that three things can't be hidden for long: the Sun, the Moon and the Truth!"

The Gaye family previously launched a successful legal action against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over their track 'Blurred Lines'.

A judge ruled there were distinct similarities between the track and Marvin's 1977 hit 'Got to Give It Up', and the two stars had to pay the late star's estate $7.3 million.