Ed Sheeran found to have not plagiarised song in Marvin Gaye court case

A verdict has been reached in Ed Sheeran's court case after the singer was accused of plagiarism over his 2014 song 'Thinking Out Loud'.

Sheeran has won the case, with a Manhattan jury finding that he did not copy Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On'.

Sheeran was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the songwriter who composed Marvin Gaye's classic 1973 track.

They accused the singer and songwriter of copying the song's harmonic progressions along with melodic and rhythmic elements without first seeking permission to do so.

This lawsuit against Sheeran was first filed back in 2017 and it's taken six years for the matter to go to trial.

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Sheeran denied plagiarising the song, with him and his lawyers arguing that plenty of songs end up sharing similar elements without any plagiarism going on.

His lawyers have said that the case should never have ended up going to court in the first place.

There was actually quite a bit on the line here as Sheeran had said he'd quit the music industry if found guilty of plagiarising the song, as he was adamant that he committed no plagiarism.

During the trial, Sheeran sang and played his guitar in court as part of his defence as he sought to prove that this was no case of plagiarism.

He was also left 'so upset' after having to miss his grandmother's funeral in Ireland due to the court case where Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Ed Townsend, claimed there are 'striking similarities' between Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' and Gaye's 'Let's Get It On'.

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The singer has played a mashup of the two songs together at concerts, something which was brought up at the trial and was described as a 'smoking gun' by lawyer for the plaintiffs Ben Crump.

Sheeran said he'd have to have been 'quite an idiot' to plagiarise a song and then perform a mashup of it 'on a stage in front of 20,000 people'.

The singer is also being sued for copyright infringement in the same court by investment banker David Pullman, who owns a third of 'Let's Get It On', and a judge ruled that the lawsuit would proceed to trial.

Topics: Ed Sheeran, Music, Celebrity

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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