A US jury has determined that Ed Sheeran, a British pop musician, did not plagiarize Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye when he wrote his hit song Thinking Out Loud. Sheeran hailed the choice as a triumph for creative freedom.
The jury came to the conclusion that the English performer had “independently” written the 2014 Grammy Award-winning song on Thursday. Sheeran later gave his group an embrace inside a courthouse in Manhattan.
The heirs of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend filed a lawsuit against Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017. They claimed that Gaye’s song’s “heart”—its melody, harmony, and rhythm—were all lifted verbatim by Thinking Out Loud.
The earnings from Sheeran’s song were also claimed by the heirs.
The musician told reporters outside of court that being accused of snatching someone had been “devastating.” He also added that he was “very happy” with the outcome.
“We might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters,” Sheeran stated if the jury had reached a different conclusion.
Insiders in the industry were eagerly watching the civil lawsuit. They were concerned that it may open the door to further legal action and stifle songwriters’ creative freedom.
In a single year, Sheeran underwent two copyright trials. In April 2022, he prevailed in a court lawsuit in London over the 2017 smash hit song Shape of You. He stated that the situation was an illustration of excessive copyright litigation.
There have been a few important music copyright cases in recent years.
One of the most significant occurred in 2015 when Gaye’s family successfully sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over similarities between their song Blurred Lines and Gaye’s Got to Give it Up
