Ed Sheeran, the British singer-songwriter, has won a US copyright case. The heirs of Marvin Gaye’s co-writer accused him of copying elements of the song “Let’s Get It On” for his hit “Thinking Out Loud.”
The plaintiffs had demanded that Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing pay them for copyright infringement.
During the trial at Manhattan federal court, Sheeran denied the allegations and said he would give up his music career if found guilty.
The jury ruled that Sheeran “independently” created his song.
Speaking outside the court, Sheeran said he was “obviously very happy” with the ruling. He added that he was frustrated that baseless claims like this were allowed to go to court and that he would never allow himself to be a “piggy bank for anyone to shake.”
No copyright violations
A musicologist for Sheeran’s defense argued that the four-chord sequence in question was used in several songs before Gaye’s hit came out in 1973. Sheeran’s lawyer, Ilene Farkas, told the jurors that similarities in the chord progressions and rhythms of the two songs were “the letters of the alphabet of music.”
