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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."

The plaintiffs accused Sheeran of copyright infringement, saying that their clients were not claiming to own basic musical elements but rather "the way in which these common elements were uniquely combined." However, the defense argued that these were basic musical building blocks that songwriters must be free to use.

The case is one of several copyright battles Sheeran has faced in recent years. Last year, he won a copyright battle at the High Court in London over his 2017 hit "Shape of You." 

He also faces claims over "Thinking Out Loud" from a company owned by investment banker David Pullman that holds copyright interests in the Gaye song.

In 2015, Gaye's heirs won a $5.3 million judgment from a lawsuit claiming that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song "Blurred Lines" copied Gaye's "Got to Give It Up." Despite very few similarities in the songs, Pullman’s group won the case. 

The ruling in favor of Sheeran is a victory for songwriters and their creative freedom. It sets a precedent for future cases where plaintiffs may try to claim copyright infringement based on similarities in basic musical building blocks. 

Songwriters will now have more freedom to use basic musical elements as building blocks to create unique and original compositions without fearing legal repercussions.