18 hit songs you didn't realize sound just like other songs

Nearly every song is inspired by something before it, but a little too much inspiration can end you up in court.

Accusations of plagiarism and copyright infringement lawsuits are nothing new in music, with some major artists fighting a legal battle while others settle out of court.

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were famously slapped with a guilty verdict and ordered to pay more than $7 million in a 2015 infringement case against the Gaye family, who alleged "Blurred Lines" ripped off Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up." Thicke and Williams are appealing the verdict in what has been described as a possibly transformative case for music copyright.

Led Zeppelin, no stranger to litigation, has found itself embroiled in another case, this time alleging that their hit "Stairway to Heaven" mirrors Spirit's "Taurus" from 1968.

But not every song that sounds like another goes to court.

In his book "Sounds Like Teen Spirit," author Tim English examines rock and roll's biggest plagiarism cases and analyzes the similarities between some of rock's greatest hits. 

Here are 18 more examples of songs that sound similar, including some that have faced lawsuits and others that haven't: