Ed Sheeran Wins 'Thinking Out Loud' Copyright Lawsuit
Ed Sheeran is triumphant!
The court found that the 32-year-old singer-songwriter did not copy Marvin Gaye‘s “Let’s Get It On” when writing his hit “Thinking Out Loud,” BBC reported on Thursday (May 4).
Heirs of Marvin Gaye‘s co-writer argued that Ed Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing owed them money for copyright infringement.
Ed had reportedly said that if he was found guilty he would give up his music career, which ultimately did not happen.
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he said when asked the trial. He also missed his grandmother’s funeral for the trial.
During the trial, he said he wrote the song at home in England with his friend Amy Wadge, and had been inspired by his grandparents and a new romantic relationship he had started.
His lawyer Ilene Farkas said similarities in the chord progressions and rhythms of the two songs were “the letters of the alphabet of music.”
“These are basic musical building blocks that songwriters now and forever must be free to use, or all of us who love music will be poorer for it,” she argued.
Last year, he won a copyright battle at the High Court in London over his 2017 hit, “Shape of You.” Find out what happened.