Dhe British pop star Ed Sheeran has won a lawsuit against allegations of plagiarism in New York. A jury acquitted the singer-songwriter in a civil trial on Thursday of charges of copying Marvin Gaye’s 1973 soul classic “Let’s Get It On” for his hit “Thinking Out Loud.” Rather, Sheeran created the song “independently.”
The heirs of US musician Ed Townsend, who died in 2003, accused Sheeran of copyright infringement. Townsend had released the 1973 song “Let’s Get It On” with colleague Marvin Gaye. Sheeran had defended himself in part in the process and rejected the allegations. “Thinking Out Loud” is based on chords and rhythms that are “basic building blocks of music” that nobody can own.
The heirs of Ed Townsend, who wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye, had sued the British singer. Townsend’s heirs spoke of “striking similarities and apparent common elements” between “Let’s Get It On” and Sheeran’s 2014 “Thinking Out Loud.” performed – and Sheeran has also mixed the two tracks at performances.
Sheeran’s attorneys countered that there were “dozens or even hundreds of songs” from before or after “Let’s Get It On” that used a “same or similar chord progression.” A musicologist whom the defense called as a witness confirmed this and said the four-chord sequence in question had been used repeatedly in songs before Gaye’s 1973 hit.
The verdict may have far-reaching implications for the music industry. The procedure dealt with the fundamental question of whether certain chord progressions are protected by copyright or whether they can be used by different musicians.
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