Ed Sheeran has appeared in court in New York City to deny that his single Thinking Out Loud copied Let’s Get it On by Marvin Gaye.
Ed Townsend’s heirs claim that Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing owe them compensation for allegedly copying the song.
An attorney dubbed Sheerin’s use of Gaye’s lyrics at his concerts a “smoking gun” as the case began.
The 32-year-old Grammy winner testified that he did not duplicate Gaye’s 1973 single.
In response to a question from attorney Keisha Rice regarding his song Take it Back, which contains the lyrics “plagiarism is hidden,” Sheeran affirmed that he had written the lyrics.
“Those are my lyrics,” he confirmed, adding, “May I provide some context?”
She stated that she would request context if necessary and then inquired about concert footage displaying him combining lyrics from Gaye’s song with Thinking Out Loud.
Earlier, another family attorney, civil rights advocate Ben Crump, argued that the concert footage constituted a “smoking gun” confession.
Sheeran responded that he sometimes combines tracks with similar chord progressions during his performances, and appeared frustrated when Ms. Rice interrupted him.
Ed Sheeran confronts a new copyright lawsuit in the United States.
He said, “I feel like you don’t want me to answer because you know what I’m going to say will make a great deal of sense.”
The trial is anticipated to last a minimum of one week. If the jury deems the pop star liable for copyright infringement, the second phase of the trial will determine the amount he must pay.
The singer is about to embark on a North American stadium tour and release a new album when the court case is filed.
Tuesday morning, Sheeran’s attorney argued that both compositions are unique and that no artist should be permitted to “monopolise” commonly used chord progressions.
Ilene Farkas stated, “No one owns fundamental musical elements.”
His attorneys stated in an earlier court filing, “The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotected chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters.”
The daughter of Mr. Townsend testified before Mr. Sheeran, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper reported that Kathryn Griffin-Townsend described Sheeran as “a great artist with a great future.” She told the jury that she reluctantly brought the case because “I have to protect my father’s legacy.”
The latest trial comes one year after Sheeran was exonerated of copying his hit song Shape Of You during a trial in London.
The claim over Thinking Out Loud was filed in 2018 by investment financier David Pullman and a company called Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which has acquired a portion of the estate of Let’s Get It On co-writer Ed Townsend.
They claim that Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge “copied and exploited” the Gaye composition without permission or credit, “including but not limited to the melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation, and looping.”
This is not the only prosecution Sheeran is facing regarding Thinking Out Loud, which topped the UK charts in 2014 and won the Grammy Award for song of the year in 2016.
A distinct suit filed by another portion of Townsend’s estate is currently awaiting trial, while SAS has filed a second suit, which is currently on hold.
