Ed Sheeran has once again won a copyright infringement case after being accused of ripping off another popular song. What did the case against Sheeran look like, and what might his win mean for the music industry?
Why was Ed Sheeran being sued for copyright infringement?
Ed Sheeran was accused of ripping off the Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On" for his song "Thinking Out Loud." Released in 2014, Sheeran's track won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Spin.com, though, wrote in 2015 that it was an "incredibly obvious successor" to "Let's Get It On," pointing to the familiar "four-note bass pattern." You can listen to a comparison of the two songs here.
Who was suing Sheeran?
Sheeran was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the late co-writer of "Let's Get It On," including his sister and daughter. They brought the lawsuit in 2017, arguing the two songs are remarkably similar.
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"The Defendants copied the 'heart' of 'Let's' and repeated it continuously throughout 'Thinking,'" the lawsuit claimed. "The melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of 'Thinking' are substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition of 'Let's.'"
The plaintiffs pointed to a video of Sheeran playing "Thinking Out Loud" live and transitioning into "Let's Get It On" as evidence that he's aware of the similarity. "The video of the medley at issue provides helpful guidance to highlight and/or illustrate those similarities and why they are significant," attorney Patrick Frank said, per Billboard. The video was played in court during the New York trial, and Ben Crump, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, described it to jurors as "a smoking gun" and a "confession." Crump also claimed Sheeran "recognized the magic of 'Let's Get It On' and decided to capture a bit of that magic without obtaining permission," per the New York Daily News.
Separately, similar lawsuits were brought against Sheeran by Structured Asset Sales, which owns a portion of the rights to "Let's Get It On."
What did Sheeran say?
Sheeran denied copying "Let's Get It On," and his legal team maintained the two songs simply share "versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters," according to The Associated Press. "According a monopoly over the use of a common chord progression to any author would undermine the central aim of copyright law … and unduly chill future expression," his attorneys argued, Billboard reports. A musicologist for Sheeran's team also argued in court filings that the basic sequence of chords at the center of the trial has been used in over a dozen songs that predate "Let's Get It On," per The New York Times.
Sheeran's lawyer told jurors "no one owns basic musical building blocks," CNN reports. The singer also took the stand and testified he wrote "Thinking Out Loud" with Amy Wadge. He denied that the concert video proves he copied "Let's Get It On," arguing, "Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs," according to the New York Times. He also said he would be "quite an idiot" to mash the songs together publicly if he truly was guilty of copyright infringement, and he indicated he would quit music if he lost the case, telling the court, "If that happens, I'm done. I'm stopping."
During a closing argument, Sheeran's attorney argued "we all benefit from artists being free to create and to build on what came before them" and that if the jury ruled against Sheeran, "creativity will be stifled for fear of being sued," according to ABC News.
In 2019, a judge denied Sheeran's motion for a summary judgment, allowing the case to head to trial. "Not only are there substantial similarities between several of the two works' musical elements, but an ordinary observer might experience the aesthetic appeal of both works as the same," the judge ruled, adding that jurors "may be impressed" by the video of Sheeran mashing up the two songs.
What did the jury find?
On May 4, the jury found Sheeran not liable for copyright infringement. They reached the verdict after less than three hours of deliberations, according to NBC News.
How does this outcome compare to similar copyright cases?
The most high-profile music copyright case of the past decade also involved a Marvin Gaye song, as Gaye's family sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for allegedly copying his track "Got to Give It Up" for "Blurred Lines." A jury found they did infringe on the copyright, and Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay over $5 million in damages. After the verdict was upheld, judge Jacqueline Nguyen argued this "strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere," as the two songs "differ in melody, harmony and rhythm." Experts speculated the verdict could create a chilling effect in the music industry, and more copyright claims against musicians followed in the subsequent years.
Since then, though, there have been numerous victories by musicians in copyright battles, including involving Sheeran himself, who was sued over a claim that his track "Shape of You" copied the song "Oh Why." He won this case in the U.K. last year after a judge said Sheeran "neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied" the song and that while there were "similarities between the one-bar phrase" in the two tracks, "such similarities are only a starting point for a possible infringement." Sheeran previously settled another copyright claim over his song "Photograph," though he has said he regrets doing so.
"The 'Blurred Lines' curse — its chilling effect — has been lifted," Perry's lawyer Christine Lepera previously declared, per The New York Times.
So Sheeran's latest copyright infringement win fits with that idea, avoiding a verdict that his team argued would create another dangerous precedent for musicians. In a video shared after his prior "Shape of You" victory, Sheeran argued that copyright claims "like this are way too common now," creating a culture where "a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court." He added, "It's really damaging to the songwriting industry. There's only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify."
Update May 4, 2023: This article has been updated throughout to reflect Sheeran's victory.
