Ed Sheeran wins copyright case against him after intense two week trial

A jury concluded on Friday morning that British singer Ed Sheeran didn’t steal key components of Marvin Gaye’s classic 1973 tune Let’s Get It On when he created his hit song Thinking Out Loud.

After three hours of deliberation, the unanimous verdict was reached by seven jurors in a New York City courtroom on Thursday.

“I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed,” Sheeran exclusively told People magazine following the decision. “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.”

After the verdict was revealed, the songwriter hugged his lawyers and co-writer Amy Wadge, then exchanged smiles and a few words with plaintiff Kathryn Townsend Griffin. As Sheeran left the courtroom, he embraced and kissed his wife Cherry Seaborn.

Sheeran was accused by Structured Asset Sales of using direct elements of the Marvin Gaye classic Let’s Get It On in his song Thinking Out Loud.

The nearly two-week trial featured a courtroom performance by Sheeran as the singer insisted, sometimes angrily, that the trial was a threat to all musicians who create their own music.

In 2018, Structured Asset Sales bought one third of the shares of Let’s Get It On from the family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Gaye. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, was one of the plaintiffs in the copyright lawsuit.

Sheeran shared a statement with reporters after the verdict was announced: “Good afternoon. I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case, and it looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all — but, 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.

“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. They are a songwriter’s ‘alphabet’, our tool kit and should be there for us all to use. No one owns them or the way they are played, in the same way, nobody owns the colour blue.

“Unfortunately, unfounded claims like this one are being fuelled by individuals who are offered as experts in musical analysis. In this instance, the other side’s musicologist left out words and notes, presented simple (and different) pitches as melody, creating misleading comparisons and disinformation to find supposed similarities where none exist.

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, centre, daughter of singer and songwriter Ed Townsend, speaks outside New York Federal Court before the start of a copyright infringement trial against singer Ed Sheeran. Photo / AP

“They tried to manipulate my and Amy’s song to try to convince the jury that they had a genuine claim, and I am very grateful that the jury saw through those attempts.

“This seems so dangerous to me, both for potential claimants who may be convinced to bring a bogus claim, as well as those songwriters facing them. It is simply wrong. By stopping this practice, we can also properly support genuine music copyright claims so that legitimate claims are rightly heard and resolved.

“If the jury had decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters. We need to be able to write our original music and engage in independent creation without worrying at every step of the way that such creativity will be wrongly called into question.

“Like artists everywhere, Amy and I work hard to independently create songs which are often based around real-life, personal experiences. It is devastating to be accused of stealing other people’s songs when we have put so much work into our livelihoods.

“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. Having to be in New York for this trial has meant that I have missed being with my family at my grandmother’s funeral in Ireland. I won’t get that time back.”

Ed Sheeran recently performed in New Zealand. Photo / Alex Robertson

He went on, “These trials take a significant toll on everybody involved, including Kathryn Townsend Griffin.

“I want to thank the jury for making a decision that will help to protect the creative process of songwriters here in the United States and around the world.

“I also want to thank my team who has supported me throughout this difficult process and to all the songwriters, musicians and fans who reached out with messages of support over the last few weeks.

“Finally, I want to thank Amy Wadge. Neither of us ever expected that nine years on from our wonderful writing session that we would be here having to defend our integrity. Amy, I feel so lucky to have you in my life.

“We need songwriters and the wider musical community to come together to bring back common sense. These claims need to be stopped so that the creative process can carry on, and we can all just go back to making music. At the same time, we absolutely need trusted individuals, real experts who help support the process of protecting copyright. Thank you.”

Sheeran was questioned by his lawyer Ilene Farkas on the stand on Tuesday. When the Grammy-winning musician was asked what he would do if the court decided Thinking Out Loud was too similar to Let’s Get It On, he responded: “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping.”

“I find it to be really insulting,” he added. “I work really hard to be where I’m at.”

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.