Ed Sheeran Takes Stand in Copyright Trial as ‘Thinking Out Loud’/’Let’s Get It On’ Medley Is Played in Court

Ed Sheeran is speaking out in his first interview since his copyright infringement victory.  The English singer-songwriter was accused of copying music chords from Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get It On" in his 2014 hit song "Thinking Out Loud." Sheeran revealed what helped him win the jury over. "101 songs with the same chord sequence," he said during an appearance on "Good Morning America." "And that was just… scratching the surface," he pointed out.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor In his first interview since his victory in the “Thinking Out Loud” copyright infringement lawsuit last week, Ed Sheeran told “Good Morning America” why he feels the jury believe that he did not copy Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit “Let’s Get It On” for his song. It was “101 songs with the same chord sequence, and that was just, like, scratching the surface,” he said, adding that the jury “was very quick to see that and be like, ‘Oh, yeah.'” (Sheeran seems to have chosen that number randomly to illustrate a multitude.) Sheeran had been steadfast in his denial that he’d taken from Gaye’s song, despite the lawsuit brought by the family of Gaye’s co-writer on the song, the late Ed Townsend. While Sheeran’s song does recall the tempo and chord progression of Gaye’s hit, ultimately his testimony and even performance of the song, solo on acoustic guitar, during the trial helped to lean the jury in his favor. He even mashed it up with other songs that are generally similar.

Last week Ed Sheeran was victorious in defending a legal case brought by heirs of the estate of Ed Townsend, a writer on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." A federal jury found that Sheeran didn't copy Gaye's classic song when he wrote his 2014 single "Thinking Out Loud," with Sheeran having previously stated he would retire from music if he'd lost the case. Sheeran, who released new album - a day after the jury's verdict, appeared on CBS Sunday Morning this weekend, where he talked about the trial and how he believes similar cases will arise in the future due to the financial stakes on offer.

Ed Sheeran has reflected on his recent high-profile plagiarism trial in a new TV interview.The pop star was found to have not copied Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for his 2014 Number One hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’, a US court ruled on Thursday (May 4).The case was brought against the pop star in 2016 by Ed Townsend – one of the co-writers on Gaye’s classic 1973 track – who accused Sheeran of copying the song on his 2014 hit.Earlier today (May 7), the singer appeared on CBS Sunday Morning to discuss his new album ‘–’ and the case.Of the controversy around the case, and why he felt it necessary to pursue victory on behalf of all songwriters, and to set a future precedent, Sheeran said: “There’s like four chords that get used in pop songs. And if you just think mathematically the likelihood of this song having the same chords as this song—there’s multiple, multiple songs—it’s all the same four chords … you are going to get this with every single pop song from now on.“Unless it just stops, which I don’t think it does because it’s a big money business to take things to court.

Ed Sheeran has said that his ‘Thinking Out Loud’ plagiarism case was ultimately “about heart and integrity”, as he celebrated his court battle win earlier this week.The pop star was found to have not copied Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for his 2014 Number One hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’, a US court ruled on Thursday (May 4).Ed Townsend, one of the co-writers on Gaye’s classic 1973 track, brought the case against Sheeran in 2016.Sheeran spoke to the New York-based radio programme Elvis Duran And The Morning Show yesterday (May 5) about his court victory.“The one thing that felt like the biggest win for me was, afterwards, Kathryn Griffin Townsend [daughter of the late Ed Townsend] and her family and everyone came up to me, hugged me and said, ‘We believe you,’” he said. “I got to walk away…from it knowing I did the right thing.”The accusations alleged that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song as well as an ascending four-chord sequence.

Ed Sheeran is speaking out in one of his first interviews since winning the lawsuit over the “Thinking Out Loud” song.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Well, that was the weirdest “album setup promo” week ever. Which is a cheeky way of saying that Ed Sheeran has gotten the amount of press that any artist could only dream of in the days leading up to a new release, albeit not for the project itself, but as the defendant in a copyright infringement trial that, after eight years after a lawsuit was first filed, coincidentally ended on the day before the release of his new record. In an instance of weird serendipity, the case did what a record company would hope any album-launch campaign would: it put the artist not just in the headlines but made him seem infinitely more likeable, given how much of the public was rooting for him to prevail, even people that never thought they liked Ed Sheeran.

Ed Sheeran celebrated a big court win Thursday after a jury found the "Bad Habits" singer-songwriter didn't copy Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in his own 2014 song, "Thinking Out Loud." Sheeran, 32, shared a statement on Instagram shortly after leaving the New York courthouse following his win.   "It’s all over, back to what I love doing," he captioned a video clip addressing the public.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Much of the music industry heaved a collective sigh of relief when the news broke Thursday that Ed Sheeran was found not liable on a copyright claim alleging that he copied key elements from the Marvin Gaye ‘70s hit “Let’s Get It On” for his own song “Thinking Out Loud.” The case is one of countless similar infringement cases that have been brought before courts, settled, or continue in seemingly endless loops of appeals. But there’s little question that recent ones — at least the ones that followed the 2015 “Blurred Lines” decision that shook the industry — have sided with creators. The lawsuit around Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” went on for five years before being decided initially in favor of Christian rapper Marcus Gray — who claimed her song was substantially similar to his earlier track “Joyful Noise” — but was overturned in 2020 when a judge ruled that the eight-note “ostinato” Perry allegedly copied lacked the “quantum of originality” to warrant copyright protection (Gray’s appeal was unsuccessful). Later in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the long-running copyright battle over Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” leaving in place a ruling that rejected infringement allegations over the 1971 song. The justices denied a petition aimed at reviving the case, ending six years of litigation over claims that the song’s writers, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, plagiarized the song’s iconic intro from the 1968 song “Taurus” by the group Spirit.

Ed Sheeran's copyright trial. On Thursday, a New York City jury found that the 32-year-old singer did not copy Marvin Gaye's 1973 hit, «Let's Get It On,» on his 2014 song, «Thinking Out Loud.»«Ed seemed very pleased with the verdict and gave everyone on his legal team a big hug,» an eyewitness at the courthouse tells ET.

Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for his song ‘Thinking Out Loud’, a US court ruled today (May 4).The case was brought against the pop star in 2016 by Ed Townsend – one of the co-writers on Gaye’s classic 1973 track – who accused Sheeran of copying the song on his 2014 hit.The accusations alleged that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. The case also referenced “striking similarities” between the two tracks that violate the copyright.

Ed Sheeran has won a US copyright lawsuit which alleged he copied parts of Marvin Gaye’s hit song Let’s Get It On for his own track Thinking Out Loud.The lawsuit was officially filed in 2017 and claimed Ed had ripped off part of the classic Marvin Gaye song.The British musician was taken to court by the family of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic.They claimed that Sheeran’s 2014 song, written with collaborator Amy Wadge, bore “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” to Let’s Get It On.The trail in New York lasted for a week where Ed and the song's co-writer, Amy Wadge, gave evidence including several live singing performances. The singer explained that he had written the song when he was at home in England and that his grandparents were the inspiration behind the song, as well as a new romance which had just sparked around that time.

A jury found today that Ed Sheeran did not wrongfully copy Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” with his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.”

Ed Sheeran is triumphant!

Ed Sheeran got a lot off his chest while at the premiere for his Disney+ documentary, , including that he missed his grandmother's funeral in Ireland due to his copyright trial in Manhattan federal court.The 32-year-old GRAMMY-winning singer revealed Tuesday night at The Times Center in New York City that this year is proving to be challenging for a myriad of reasons, and the trial stemming over his track, «Thinking Out Loud,» is just the tip of the iceberg.«This week, for me at the moment, I got the documentary coming out, I got the album [] coming out Friday, I start my tour on Saturday, my grandmother's funeral is [Wednesday] [and] I'm still in this court case,» said Sheeran while speaking to moderator Gayle King. «It's just another point in life when life is happening.

Ed Sheeran has spent another day in court in an ongoing plagiarism trial related to his 2015 single ‘Thinking Out Loud’, and played Van Morrison in the court room to further contest accusations that the song ripped off Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’.Back in 2016, the pop star was sued by Ed Townsend, one of the song’s co-writers, who alleged that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied the rhythm of the 1973 song, as well as an ascending four-chord sequence. It also references “striking similarities” between the two tracks that violate the copyright.

threaten to be “done” with music if he’s found liable, a disillusioned Ed Sheeran’s much-publicized copyright infringement trial is also taking a toll on his personal life.The trial — in which Sheeran is facing a lawsuit for allegedly ripping off Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” — forced the four-time Grammy winner to miss his beloved grandmother’s funeral in Ireland on Wednesday.“I am very sad that our son Edward is unable to be here today,” Sheeran’s father John said in a eulogy for his 98-year-old mother, Anne “Nancy” Sheeran. “He’s so upset that he cannot be present — he has to be thousands of miles away in a court in America defending his integrity.

Ed Sheeran is still attending his ongoing copyright trial in New York City, even if it meant he had to miss his late grandmother’s funeral.

Ed Sheeran has been no stranger to hard times in recent years as the star opens up about his mental health battles in a new four-part documentary which airs today.

Ed Sheeran had some harsh words to say about a musicologist who presented expert testimony at the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ song-theft trial last week. “I think what he is doing is criminal”, the musician declared in court earlier this week, adding: “I don’t know why he’s allowed to be an expert”.Musicologist Alexander Stewart was testifying for the estate of the late Ed Townsend, which accuses Sheeran of ripping off the Marvin Gaye song ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’ back in 2014.