US jury sides with Ed Sheeran in ‘Let’s Get It On’ copyright trial By Reuters

Written by Blake Brittain and Brendan Pearson

(Reuters) – Iconic British pop star Ed Sheeran did not illegally copy “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On,” a jury in Manhattan federal court decided Thursday in a lawsuit over… Copyright is closely followed.

The jury decided that the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” songwriter Ed Townsend had not established that Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group, and his music publisher Sony (NYSE:) Music Publishing has infringed Gaye’s song copyright.

Sheeran hugged his lawyer in the courtroom after the verdict was read.

Townsend’s heirs sued Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017, alleging that “Thinking Out Loud” copied the “heart” of Gaye’s song including its melody, harmonies, and rhythm. Sheeran’s lawyers argued that any similarities between the songs involved basic musical “building blocks” that could not be copyrighted.

In her testimony at trial, Sheeran denied the allegations of copyright infringement, telling the jury, “I find it really insulting to dedicate my entire life to being an artist-songwriter and to have someone diminish that.”

Sheeran on the witness stand played the chord progression to “Thinking Out Loud” and sang the opening lyrics: “When your legs don’t work like they used to”. Sheeran testified that his friend and collaborator Amy Wedge began playing the song’s chords while visiting his home in England, and that they collaborated on the song’s lyrics.

Ben Crump, the attorney representing the heirs, told jurors that Sheeran actually admitted to ripping Gaye’s song when he performed it live as a medley with “Thinking Out Loud.”

Sheeran has testified that singers frequently perform such “mashups”, and that on other occasions he has combined his song with Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”.

Lawyers for Townsend’s estate did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the ruling.

Gaye, who died in 1984, collaborated with Townsend, who died in 2003, to write “Let’s Get It On,” which topped the Billboard charts. Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015.

The plaintiffs asked for a share of the profits from Thinking Out Loud. The heirs said in a court filing that they received a 22% writer’s share of Jay Townsend’s song.

There are two similar court cases pending against Sheeran in Manhattan, brought by investment banker and creator of “Bowie Bonds” David Pullman’s Structured Asset Sales LLC, which also owns the copyright to Gaye’s song.

Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his film “Shape of You”. Gaye’s heirs won a major verdict in 2015 when a Los Angeles jury agreed with allegations that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ song “Blurred Lines” copied Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.”