British pop phenomenon Ed Sheeran did not plagiarize Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when composing his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud,” a US jury ruled Thursday.
Sheeran stood up and hugged his band after jurors ruled he created his song “independently,” an AFP reporter reported inside federal court in Manhattan.
The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend, who alleged that Sheeran’s song’s harmonic progressions and rhythmic elements were lifted without permission from the classic that Gaye made famous.
The heirs sought a share of the profits from Sheeran’s song.
Sheeran, 32, played several songs from the witness stand as he gave evidence at the civil trial.
The English musician testified that he writes most of his songs in one day, revealing that he wrote “Thinking Out Loud” with songwriter Amy Wadge, a regular partner.
The two wrote “Thinking Out Loud” at Sheeran’s house in February 2014, he said.
“We sat down with the guitar,” Sheeran said, according to US media. “We wrote a lot together.”
The judges decided to decide whether Sheeran’s song and Gaye’s classic are significantly similar and whether their common elements are protected by copyright law.
Townsend’s family revealed that Boyz II Men have performed mash-ups of the two songs, and Sheeran has also combined the songs on stage.
Sheeran’s band contested the allegations, saying there are “dozens or hundreds of songs” that predate and follow Gaye’s song, “using the same or similar chord progression.”
A musicologist retained by the defense says in court documents that the four-chord sequence was used in several songs before Gaye’s 1973 hit.
The copyright case was closely watched by industry insiders because it could set a precedent for protections for songwriters’ creations and open the door to legal challenges elsewhere.
It was the second trial in a year for Sheeran, who last April successfully testified in a London court in a lawsuit centered around his song “Shape Of You,” saying the case was representative of copyright litigation. The judge agreed.
Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” topped the US Billboard Hot 100 upon its release, and won Sheeran Song of the Year at the 2016 Grammys.
There has been a flood of copyright lawsuits in recent years, most notably in 2016 when Gaye’s family – which is not a party to the New York lawsuit against Sheeran – successfully sued artists Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and TI over the song’s similarities to “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s ” Got to Give it Up”.
AFP
