Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Lawsuit Over Marvin Gaye Song

According to brooklynvegan.com a federal jury found the pop singer Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye’s song “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 smash single “Thinking Out Loud.”

For over two weeks Sheeran testified that “Thinking Out Loud” had been created independently one evening with his friend and longtime collaborator Amy Wadge and  the song was inspired  by the decades-long loves that he and Ms. Wadge observed among elders in their families.

“Let’s Get It On” and “Thinking Out Loud allegedly do have similar  chord pattern that the family of Ed Townsend allegedly called the “heart” of “Let’s Get It On.” Sheeran and his lawyers  allegedly never denied that the chords both two songs are similar but viewed the chords as musical building blocks that have turned up in dozens of other songs.

When Sheeran finished testifying, the jury deliberated for three hours where they found that Sheeran created “Thinking Out Loud” independently. When the verdict was read shortly after 1 p.m., Sheeran stood up and hugged members of his legal team and then he walked over to Kathryn Griffin Townsend to embraced her.

Both parties spoke briefly and after that moment, Townsend stated that she respected the jury’s decision and that she had defended her father’s legacy. “I stood up for my father’s intellectual properties,” she said. “I was up against an army.”

In the following statement Sheeran describes how relieved he is feeling after hearing the jury’s verdict.

“I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case,” Mr. Sheeran said in a statement that he read outside the courthouse. “At the same time, I am unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.We have spent the last eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day, all over the world.”

Sheeran adds: These chords are common building blocks which were used to create music long before ‘Let’s Get It On’ was written and will be used to make music long after we are all gone.I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”

 

Cait Stoddard: Hello! My name is Caitlin and my job is writing music news stories and reviewing metal music albums. I enjoy collecting vinyl, playing video games, watching movies and going to concerts.
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