The Second Circuit has upheld its decision in favor of Ed Sheeran, ruling that his hit song "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe on Marvin Gaye’s classic "Let’s Get It On." The court denied a petition for rehearing, both by the panel and en banc, in a Friday ruling that handed a loss to Structured Asset Sales LLC (SAS).

SAS, a company that buys and sells royalty interests from copyright holders, had asked the court to reconsider its November 1 decision. The petition argued that the three-judge panel had improperly relied on the Copyright Office's administrative manual in interpreting the Copyright Act of 1909. SAS contended that this reliance violated the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Chevron deference, a doctrine that once allowed courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of laws when the statutes were ambiguous.

In its original decision, the panel had rejected SAS's claim that a Manhattan federal judge wrongly excluded evidence and expert testimony beyond the sheet music registered in 1973 for "Let’s Get It On." The court’s ruling affirmed that the Copyright Act of 1909 only protected the sheet music of the Motown song, not its sound recording, thus negating SAS's infringement allegations against Sheeran.

Donald S. Zakarin, Sheeran’s attorney at Pryor Cashman LLP, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision. "We are pleased, but not surprised, that the Second Circuit rejected the petition for rehearing," Zakarin said in a statement.

Structured Asset Sales is represented by Hillel I. Parness of Parness Law Firm PLLC. Sheeran’s legal team also includes Ilene S. Farkas, Andrew M. Goldsmith, and Brian M. Maida of Pryor Cashman LLP.

The case, Structured Asset Sales LLC v. Sheeran et al., case number 23-905, is under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.