The artist was charged with copying Marvin Gray’s composition. The case has been dragging on since 2018.
British singer Ed Sheeran is set to stand trial on charges of copying Marvin Gaye’s song. A federal judge refused to dismiss the case, ruling that a jury could decide that Thinking Out Loud infringed Gay’s iconic Let’s Get It On, Billboard wrote.
Sheeran’s lawyers argued that the lawsuit brought by someone who owned a partial stake in Gaye’s hit 1973 song was invalid because the combination of simple elements the singer allegedly stole was insufficient strange to be subject to copyright in the first place.
But in his ruling, Judge Louis Stanton said there was no hard and fast rule for dealing with such matters and the pop star needed to present his arguments to a jury of his peers.
The ruling sets the stage for a high-profile trial in Manhattan federal court at some point in the future, though no date has yet been set. Sheeran’s attorney declined to comment on the upcoming trial.
As you know, Ed Sheeran has had his fair share of copyright lawsuits. He’s now well-versed in copyright laws, having recently won a similar lawsuit in the UK claiming he stole his 2017 chart-topping hit Shape of You.
He filed the current lawsuit in 2018. At the time, Sheeran’s lawyers argued that the elements he allegedly took from Gaye’s song – the chord progression and harmonic rhythm – were too conventional to be the exclusive property of any songwriter. They mention several other songs, including Since I Lost My Baby by The Temptations, which have similar aspects.
Sheeran’s accusers acknowledge that these elements are common and not protected in their own right. But that said, when they joined Gay’s famous song, they became more original and worthy of copyright protection.
“There is no clear rule that the combination of two unprotected elements is not sufficient to constitute an original work. A work can be protected by copyright even if it is a complete compilation of unprotected elements,” the judge said.
Recall that the joint work of the British singer Ed Sheeran and the Ukrainian band Antytila 2step set records in the charts.
Pop singer Ed Sheeran has been accused of plagiarizing a song
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