On Thursday, a jury in Manhattan federal court ruled that Ed Sheeran's 2014 hit song Thinking Out Loud did not infringe on the copyright of Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic song Let's Get It On. The decision was considered a major victory for the British pop star, who had been sued by the heirs of Let's Get It On songwriter Ed Townsend in 2017. In the trial, it was alleged that Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group, and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing had unlawfully copied the "heart" of Gaye's song, including its melody, harmony, and rhythm.
However, Sheeran's legal team argued that the similarities between the two songs were fundamental musical "building blocks" that could not be protected by copyright. Sheeran testified on the witness stand and denied the copyright infringement claims, saying that he found it insulting for someone to diminish his entire life's work as a performer and songwriter. The jury agreed with Sheeran's defence, ruling that Townsend's heirs had not proven that Sheeran's song unlawfully copied from Gaye's. Upon hearing the verdict, Sheeran embraced his lawyers in the courtroom, expressing his relief after being accused of plagiarizing someone else's song, given the amount of effort he has put into his career.
After the verdict, Sheeran expressed gratitude to the jury for their decision, which he believed would help safeguard the creative process for songwriters globally. It is important to mention that a major lawsuit was won by Gaye's heirs in 2015 in Los Angeles, where a jury concluded that the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had infringed on Gaye's Got to Give It Up. In Manhattan, there are two pending lawsuits against Sheeran filed by Structured Asset Sales LLC, owned by investment banker and "Bowie Bonds" creator David Pullman, which also has copyright interests in the Gaye song.
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