Ed Sheeran Speaks Out After Winning Copyright Case, Slams ‘Baseless’ Plagiarism Claims

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.”

Ed Sheeran has successfully defeated a lawsuit that accused him of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’. And if you think we’re reporting on this two weeks too late you’re forgetting that there were multiple lawsuits making that claim.The first lawsuit to allege that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ infringed the copyright in ‘Let’s Get It On’ was the one filed by the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the Gaye classic.

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 just made his debut at the 58th annual ACM Awards and he delivered a powerful performance with some help from Luke Combs.The «Shape of You» singer hit the stage Thursday night at the Ford Center's The Star in Frisco, Texas, and performed «Life Goes On» while strumming his guitar and rocking an appropriately country denim ensemble.Sheeran turned the number — off his just-released album — into a duet with Combs, who joined the English singer on stage in a surprise appearance that gave the song a fantastic country music flair.After the unexpected pairing, host Garth Brooks took the stage to ask the artists about their collaboration and how they made it come together.«We met like 2018, I'd heard Luke's music through a friend… and we've just been friends for years now,» Sheeran said, smiling, «and it's been great.»Sheeran's performance comes exactly one week after a verdict sided with him in a copyright trial over his «Thinking Out Loud» track. A New York City jury ultimately found that the 32-year-old singer did not copy Marvin Gaye's 1973 hit, «Let's Get It On,' for his 2014 hit track. After the verdict was reached, Sheeran, who was forced to miss his grandmother's funeral in Ireland to attend the trial, publicly released a statement about his win and the case as a whole.»I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case, and it looks like I'm not going to have to retire from my day job after all — but, at the same time, I am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all," Sheeran's statement read.

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 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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.”