According to a US court decision, Ed Sheeran did not directly duplicate Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On when writing Thinking Out Loud.
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
The British singer-songwriter has vehemently denied appropriating parts of the song for his massive global smash in 2014.
Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing were accused of violating the copyright of Gaye's co-writer, according to Sheeran's heirs.
Sheeran allegedly stated during the New York trial that he would end his musical career if found guilty.
When questioned about the emotional toll the Manhattan federal court trial was having on him, he responded, "If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping."
After the jury determined that Sheeran "independently" wrote his song, Sheeran reportedly got up and hugged his team.
Sheeran performed and played guitar at the civil trial while performing portions of Thinking Out Loud.
He said that he co-wrote the song with his friend Amy Wadge at his home in England and that his grandparents and a just-started love connection served as inspiration.
Ilene Farkas, Sheeran's attorney, explained to the jury that the two songs' identical chord progressions and rhythms were "the letters of the alphabet of music."
All of us who love music will be worse off without these fundamental elements, she warned. "Songwriters now and forever must be free to use them."
The descendants of Gaye's co-writer Ed Townsend were represented by Keisha Rice, who argued that her clients were not asserting ownership of fundamental musical components but rather "the way in which these common elements were uniquely combined."
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| Image Source - Google | Image by <br><a href= BBC News |
She advised the jury to use their "common sense" to determine if the songs are comparable, warning that Mr. Sheeran "is counting on you to be very, very overwhelmed by his commercial success."
At the High Court in London last year, Sheeran prevailed in a copyright dispute involving his 2017 song Shape of You.
A business founded by investment banker David Pullman that has copyright interests in the Gaye song is suing Sheeran over his song Thinking Out Loud.
