Ed Sheeran has walked away victorious in the controversial trial over his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’. Sheeran was being sued by the heirs of Marvin Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend, who claimed that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ infringes the copyright of Gaye’s 1973 track ‘Let’s Get It On’.
As reported by Pitchfork and The New York Times, the jury in Manhattan deliberated for around three hours before siding with Sheeran. Sheeran’s team had argued in court that the chord progression in ‘Thinking Out Loud’, while similar to ‘Let’s Get It On’, was already well-used by Sheeran, and was a simple building block of music.
Ed Sheeran: ‘Thinking Out Loud’
Sheeran spoke to reporters outside the Manhattan court following the verdict, saying that he’s happy with the outcome, but also “unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court”.
“It’s devastating to be accused of stealing someone else’s song when we’ve put so much work into our livelihoods,” Sheeran told reporters. “I want to thank the jury for making the decision that will help protect the creative process for songwriters here in the United States and all around the world.”
Sheeran had threatened to quit music if he was unsuccessful in the case. “It looks like I’m not having to retire from my day job, after all,” he said after the win.
Townsend’s heirs first brought the case back in 2016, claiming that the “melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions” of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ are “substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition” of ‘Let’s Get It On’.
It’s the latest in a string of lawsuits against Sheeran over copyright – he won a 2022 trial over 2017 song ‘Shape Of You’, and settled a case in 2016 over his track ‘Photograph’.
Further Reading
Ed Sheeran Testifies in ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Plagiarism Trial
Ed Sheeran Launching Pop Up Merch Shops in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Ed Sheeran Announces Four-Part Disney+ Docu-Series ‘The Sum of It All’
