Ed Sheeran claims he'll quit music altogether if found guilty of plagiarising song

Ed Sheeran has promised to quit the music industry if he's found guilty of plagiarism.

The singer has been taken to court by the Marvin Gaye estate, which claims the pop star copied one of his biggest songs.

Sheeran took the stand in New York last week, where he argued his case against Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of Ed Townsend, who worked with Gaye's on his 1973 hit, 'Let's Get It On'.

She alleges that the 32-year-old mimicked the iconic tune when creating his number one 'Thinking Out Loud' back in 2014.

She claims there are 'striking similarities' between the two tracks, as well as 'overt common elements' that violate their copyright.

Obviously, however, Sheeran has been pretty adamant that he's no cheat, and never copied anything from Gaye's back catalogue.

Edna Leshowitz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

He said that if he were to be found in the wrong, he would call it a day on his music career.

"If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping," he told his lawyer, Ilene Farkas.

"I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it."

He also faced questions from attorney Keisha Rice, who asked about another of his songs, 'Take It Back', in which he sings the words 'plagiarism is hidden'.

Attempting to defend himself, Sheeran responded: "Those are my lyrics, yep. Can I give some context to them?"

However, Rice didn't give him the opportunity, telling him that if she needed more context, she would ask him for it.

Rice then presented the singer with a video clip of a live show in which he made a medley out of 'Thinking Out Loud' and 'Let's Get It On' - a segment previously described as a smoking gun.

Sheeran argued that he sometimes made medleys out of songs with similar chords at his gigs, but when cut off by Rice, he said: "I feel like you don't want me to answer because you know that what I'm going to say is actually going to make quite a lot of sense."

Edna Leshowitz/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Farkas had argued that the two songs are distinct, and that plaintiffs should not be allowed to 'monopolise' a chord progression and melody.

In an earlier court filing, the lawyers claimed: "The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable [sic] chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters."

While Sheeran himself told the court: "I mash up songs at lots of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from 'Let It Be' to 'No Woman No Cry' and switch back.

"And quite frankly, if I'd done what you're accusing me of doing, I'd be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that."

LADbible has contacted representatives for Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing for comment.