A US court determined that Ed Sheeran did not plagiarize Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On when writing Thinking Out Loud.
The British singer-songwriter had previously denied borrowing components of the song for his 2014 global smash.
The heirs of Gaye’s co-writer claimed that Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing owed them money for infringement of their copyright.
Sheeran allegedly told the New York trial that if he was found guilty, he would give up his music career.
After jurors ruled that Sheeran “independently” created his song, he reportedly stood up and hugged his team. Sheeran sang and played parts of Thinking Out Loud on the guitar during the civil trial.
He stated he created the song with his friend Amy Wadge at home in England, and it was inspired by his grandparents and a new romantic connection he had just begun.
According to Keisha Rice, who represents Gaye’s co-writer Ed Townsend’s heirs, her clients are not claiming ownership of basic musical parts but rather “how these common elements were uniquely combined.”
Last year, Sheeran won a copyright dispute in London’s High Court over his 2017 single Shape of You.
Sheeran is also facing allegations for Thinking Out Loud from a firm owned by investment banker David Pullman, which owns the song’s copyright.
Gaye’s heirs obtained a $5.3 million verdict in 2015 in a case alleging that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song Blurred Lines duplicated Gaye’s Got to Give It Up.
