Ed Sheeran, the British singer, has won the copyright case over ‘Thinking Out Loud’, his Grammy-winning song.
The singer was being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, co-writer of ‘Let’s Get It On’, a 1973 song by the late Marvin Gaye.
The lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2017, alleged “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” between Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and the 1973 soul classic.
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The copyright infringement lawsuit reportedly sought $100 million in damages.
But on Thursday, a Manhattan jury found that Sheeran “independently created his song and did not infringe on the copyright” of Gaye’s song.
Speaking on the verdict, Sheeran said eight years was spent talking about two songs with “dramatically different lyrics and chords which can be used by songwriters every day all over the world.”
The 32-year-old British pop star said the accusations against him are “unbelievably frustrating.”
Sheeran said he is happy that he “won’t have to retire from his job.”
“I’m obviously very happy with the outcome of the case. It looks like I’m not having to retire from my day job after all,” he said.
“But at the same time, I’m unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.
“It’s devastating to be accused of stealing someone else’s song. We need to bring back common sense and use trusted individuals as music experts so the creative process can carry on.”
Last Tuesday, while testifying in court, the singer said he would have to be an “idiot” to rip off Gaye’s song and then perform it for thousands of fans.
“If I had done what you are accusing me of doing, I would be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,” he had said.
Sheeran also performed on the witness stand in court to prove the Grammy-winning song was originally recorded by him.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
