Ed Sheeran
He didn’t copy Marvin Gaye
Ed Sheeran a few days ago outside the Manhattan courthouse where his case was being heard.
© imago images/ZUMA Wire
Ed Sheeran has won a lawsuit over plagiarism allegations. The jury ruled that he didn’t copy Marvin Gaye.
Ed Sheeran, 32, didn’t copy. After around three hours of deliberations, a seven-person jury in Manhattan came to the unanimous decision that the British superstar did not use Marvin Gaye’s (1939-1984) hit “Let’s Get It On” from 1973 for his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud”. . He was accused of adopting elements of the song.
“I feel the truth has been heard and believed,” Sheeran said in court after the win the US magazine “People”. He also told the other side: “It’s nice that we can both get on with our lives now, but it’s sad that it had to come to this.”
The lawsuit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, which acquired a one-third interest in the song in 2018 from the family of Gaye’s co-songwriter Ed Townsend (1929-2003). Townsend’s family first sued Sheeran directly over the song in 2016. The following year, the case was dismissed before being reopened in 2018. As a result, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled that a grand jury was required to resolve the copyright case.
It could have been Ed Sheeran’s retirement
Sheeran had previously hinted in the trial that he might end his career if it was decided that his song “Let’s Get It On” was too similar. If this happens, he will stop, Sheeran said in court, according to “People”. And further: “I find it really insulting, I work really hard to be where I am.”