Ed Sheeran speaks about copyright trial: “I used four chords that are very common”

Lewis Capaldi’s fears and worries going into his second album can be officially cast aside, as the Scottish singer-songwriter lands straight in at Number 1 with the biggest opening week of his career to date, and the fastest-selling album of 2023 so far, the Official Charts Company can confirm.

Ed Sheeran has won another copyright case regarding his 2014 Number One hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’.Earlier this month, the pop star was found to have not copied Marvin Gaye‘s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for ‘Thinking Out Loud’, a US court ruled in a high-profile case.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 verdict came after Sheeran reportedly took to the stand in Manhattan to insist he would be “done” with music if found guilty.Now, the star has won another lawsuit that was filed in 2018 by Structured Asset Sales, the partial owners of the copyright of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’.In his verdict, New York federal judge Louis L. Stanton dismissed the case on similar grounds as the other, more high-profile proceeding, saying: “It is an unassailable reality that the chord progression and harmonic rhythm in ‘Let’s Get It On’ are so commonplace, in isolation and in combination, that to protect their combination would give ‘Let’s Get It On’ an impermissible monopoly over a basic musical building block.”He added: “There is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether defendants infringed the protected elements of ‘Let’s Get It On.

British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran on Tuesday defeated a second copyright lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan over similarities between his hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”

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 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.

Looks like Ed Sheeran won’t be leaving the music industry in disgust after all.

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.

A victory with a message. Ed Sheeran spoke out after winning a copyright case about his song “Thinking Out Loud” — and slammed the practice of suing artists for using “common building blocks” of music.

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 is holding nothing back.

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 is speaking out after winning his copyright trial. On Thursday, a New York City jury ruled 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.»The verdict came after heirs of Gaye's «Let's Get It On» co-writer, Ed Townsend, sued Sheeran and his record label in 2017. After ultimately coming out victorious, an eyewitness tells ET, «Ed seemed very pleased with the verdict and gave everyone on his legal team a big hug.

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.”

A verdict has been reached in 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 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.