Ed Sheeran not guilty of copy-write infringement

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A Manhattan jury found Ed Sheeran’s hit “Thinking Out Loud” did not infringe on the copyright of the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On.”

The jury determined that Sheeran did not wrongfully copy compositional elements or melodies from “Let’s Get It On.” The jury found that Sheeran independently created his song.

Sheeran later said he is “obviously very happy with the outcome of the case,” adding “it looks like I’m not having to retire from my day job after all.”

“But at the same time I’m unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all,” he said. Sheeran said eight years were spent talking about two songs with “dramatically” different lyrics melodies “and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters everyday all over the world.”

Sheeran also delved into the emotional toll of the trial for him, noting that it required him to miss being with his family for his grandmother’s funeral in Ireland. “I will never get that time back,” he said.

The trial concerned Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud,” which won the 2016 Grammy award for song of the year. The family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye, had accused Sheeran of copying the 1973 hit.

The plaintiffs had alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm, and certain melodies in the two songs. Sheeran’s legal team had argued that the melodies are different and the elements used in both songs are common in pop music.

The case was closely watched for its potential to further complicate the legal landscape for songwriters, after a number of high-profile music copyright lawsuits in recent years.