On Tuesday, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran testified in a high-profile copyright trial in which he is accused of copying Marvin Gaye's classic song "Let's Get It On" for his hit single "Thinking Out Loud." The lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the Gaye hit song. Townsend's daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his sister Helen McDonald, and the estate of his former wife, Cherrigale Townsend, are the listed plaintiffs on the case.
During the trial, the plaintiff's lawyer, Ben Crump, argued that Sheeran had played his ballad and Gaye's song back-to-back in a medley during a concert, calling it a "smoking gun." However, Sheeran denied the allegations and testified that the idea of creating the medley was his own.
Sheeran's legal team argued that the sounds used in both songs are common in pop music and that "no one owns basic musical building blocks." Ilene Farkas, Sheeran's lawyer, told the jury in her opening remarks.
The lawsuit is one of several prominent music copyright lawsuits in recent years. Gaye's family has previously sued other artists for copyright infringement and won. The estate successfully sued singer Robin Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams for $7.4 million in 2015 for borrowing from Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" for their hit "Blurred Lines." However, other recent copyright cases have had different outcomes, such as Taylor Swift's case over her hit "Shake It Off," which was settled and dismissed last year.
Sheeran has also faced previous legal battles over his music and won. In a 2022 case over his song "Shape of You," a judge ruled in Sheeran's favor that he did not copy grime artist Sami Switch's song "Oh Why" after the musician accused Sheeran of plagiarizing a key part. He was also sued in 2016 over his single "Photograph," which was settled out of court.
In a video posted on his Instagram after his successful legal battle in 2022, Sheeran expressed his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases, stating that it was damaging to the songwriting industry. "There's only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify. That's 22 million songs a year, and there's only 12 notes that are available," Sheeran said. "Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience."