Ed Sheeran Wins “Thinking Out Loud” Copyright Case

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What might have felt like double jeopardy has turned into a double win for Ed Sheeran, as the pop superstar prevailed in yet a second copyright infringement lawsuit filed over the song “Thinking Out Loud,.” The same judge who oversaw the previous case dismissed this additional suit on Tuesday before it ever got to trial. This like-minded lawsuit had been filed by Structured Asset Sales LLC, another party with an interest in the 1973 Marvin Gaye hit “Let’s Get It On,” similarly contending that Sheeran’s 2014 smash infringed on the previous song’s copyright. The company owns part of songwriter Ed Townsend’s share of the Gaye tune; it was heirs of Townsend who filed the previous unsuccessful lawsuit. The result was much the same, with or without a trial, with the elements shared by the two tunes being judged “common.”

longtime collaborators did not rip off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” with their 2014 hit.Wadge, 47, last week shared a picture of the celebratory ink on her left arm, which read “independently created” in a typewriter-style typeface.Heirs of “Let’s Get It On” composer Ed Townsend alleged in a $100 million lawsuit that Sheeran and Wadge’s song contained elements of harmony, melody and rhythm stolen from the classic Gaye tune.But the jury found the British musicians “independently created” the romantic ballad.In an Instagram post showing off her new tat, Wadge said she was “on cloud nine about the verdict” which came after “three of the toughest weeks” of her life.Sheeran, 32, was also overcome with emotion following the legal ordeal.

Ed Sheeran has said that he felt that he “had to take a stand” against claims that he ripped off Marvin Gaye song ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’, even though doing so meant that he was forced to miss his grandmother’s funeral.“I’m really glad it’s over, man”, he told Howard Stern on his Sirius XM show. Acknowledging the length of time it took for the case to get to trial, he went on: “It was eight years of that.

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.

The ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ programme in the US this weekend aired an interview with Ed Sheeran recorded before last week’s ruling in the big song-theft case over his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ in which he discussed the legal battle.Sheeran was accused of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by the estate of the former song’s co-writer Ed Townsend. But Sheeran and his lawyers countered that the two songs sound similar simply because they are built out of the same musical building blocks, which are not protected by copyright in isolation.And last week a jury in New York agreed with Team Sheeran, concluding that the musician had not infringed the copyright in ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’.As part of a feature for CBS to promote his new album ‘-‘, Sheeran was asked about the legal dispute that was still going through the motions when the interview was recorded.

Ed Sheeran is surprising fans in Los Angeles and New York City!

Ed Sheeran debuted songs from new album ‘–’ this weekend at surprise pop-up gigs on the streets of New York and Los Angeles.On Saturday (May 6), the singer appeared in Soho, New York atop a Volvo car to play a number of songs.The next day, he performed from the open top upper deck of a StarLine City Sightseeing bus in Los Angeles. “I have a different vehicle for more fun,” he said of the LA gig.

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 shed happy tears this week after winning his plagiarism case, which fought allegations that he ripped off part of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song, Let’s Get It On, for his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.The singer, 32, who has battled and won court cases similar before, spoke spoke outside of a US courthouse while explaining his joy yet 'frustration' over the situation. Going on for years now, it was back in 2017 that singer Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Ed Townsend, one of the co-writers on the Marvin Gaye track, filed a lawsuit against him in 2017.

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 is thankful for his friendship with Taylor Swift. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the 32-year-old singer opened up about how his friendship with the pop star is like «therapy.»«I have long, long, long conversations with Taylor about stuff just because I feel like she's one of the only people that actually truly understands where I'm at,» Sheeran said, adding that he recently spoke to Swift for more than an hour on the phone.«Everything that was on our minds we talked about.

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.

Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On in his own hit song Thinking Out Loud, a court has ruled.

Ed Sheeran is triumphant!

Ed Sheeran’s threat that he will quit music if he loses the current ‘Thinking Out Loud’ song-theft case in New York might have actually boosted support for the Ed Townsend estate that instigated this legal battle. However, Sheeran’s lawyer warned yesterday, if her client loses, all songwriters lose because of the precedent that ruling will set.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Testimony wrapped up in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial at the end of the court day Wednesday, as the judge sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.” U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton’s instructions may have left a high bar in the jury’s minds for just how much evidence the plaintiffs’ attorneys needed to have established to prove that Sheeran and his co-writer actually copied Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when they wrote the pop hit “Thinking Out Loud.” According to Insider, Stanton told jurors that the lawyers for the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, needed to “prove by a preponderance of the evidence… that Sheeran actually copied and wrongfully copied ‘Let’s Get It On'” — as opposed to the coincidental, negligible similarities argued by Sheeran’s attorneys.

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.