Ed Sheeran has won a copyright lawsuit filed against him by the family of Marvin Gaye’s songwriting collaborator Ed Townsend.
The British singer was accused of copying parts of Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his hit single “Thinking Out Loud.”
After emerging as the winner, Sheeran told the press that the “baseless allegations” would one day restrict the “creative freedom of songwriters.”
The win marks the second time Sheeran has been found not guilty in a copyright suit in two years, as he previously won one filed against his hit single, “Shape of You.”
Read on to learn more.
Ed Sheeran Found Not Guilty Of Ripping Marvin Gaye
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Per various, a Manhattan federal court found Sheeran not guilty of plagiarizing key parts of Gaye’s 1970s film “Let’s Get It On” to create “Thinking Out Loud.”
The singer was on trial for nearly two weeks and admitted to the press after the verdict that the disturbing incident left him “disappointed.”
“Looks like I don’t have to give up my day job,” Sheeran said, referring to his pledge earlier in the week to quit his music career if found guilty.
He went on to explain that such “baseless allegations” leading to copyright suits should not be “allowed to go to court at all,” adding that an unfavorable ruling would restrict the “creative freedom of songwriters.”
The singer also expressed his sadness at missing his grandmother’s funeral, which was held on Wednesday in Ireland, saying he would never “get that time back.”
The Judge Asks the Jury to Make a Decision Based on the Facts
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US District Court Judge Louis Stanton presided over the copyright suit, advising the jury before deliberations that “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar the song.”
He also told jurors that the plaintiffs’ attorneys had to “prove by more evidence… that Sheeran actually copied and falsely copied ‘Let’s Get It On,'” as if to show them that their decision should not be based on emotion but on facts .
In the end, the ruling went in Sheeran’s favor, marking the second copyright suit he won in two years.
He previously emerged victorious in a UK copyright battle that claimed he ripped off Sami Chokri’s 2015 “Oh Why” for his single “Shape of You.”
At the time, he also voiced his displeasure with “the baseless culture of lawsuits aimed at extorting money from artists eager to avoid the expense of litigation.”
Ed Sheeran Vows To Quit Music If He’s Found Guilty
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If the jury in Gaye’s copyright case had ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Sheeran would have been liable to pay $100 million in damages. The exact amount, however, will be determined in the second trial.
Additionally, the decision may deprive fans of new music and live performances from Sheeran, as he had promised earlier in the week to quit his music career if he lost the case.
At the time, he also described the copyright claims as “insulting” to the years of hard work he had put in to carve out a niche in the music industry.
“If that happens, I’m done; I quit,” Sheeran told the press before the not guilty verdict, per Daily Mail. “I think it’s insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone cut it short.”
Ed Sheeran Denies Ripping off Marvin Gaye’s Song
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During the trial, the singer did his best to refute the allegations and point out weaknesses in some of the plaintiff’s arguments.
Part of his defense was to explain that “a lot of the songs have similar chords,” which made it easy to mix them up for his show, but it didn’t show that he copied the song.
He made the remarks after plaintiffs’ lawyers submitted a video of him seamlessly transitioning between two songs involved in the copyright suit, which they used to argue it proved the singer was guilty.
The “Shape of You” hitmaker said, “If I did what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be pretty stupid to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.”
He also lashed out at the plaintiffs’ expert witness, musician Alexander Stewart, accusing him of altering evidence to fit his narrative.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
