A federal jury in Manhattan has officially ruled that pop star Ed Sheeran didn’t infringe on the copyright of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. The question of Sheeran’s 2015 hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’ cribbed from the 1973 classic had emerged and eventually jurors decided that the 32-year-old independently created his song and wasn’t liable for copyright infringement.
Upon hearing the verdict, CNBC reported that Ed Sheeran stood up and hugged his lawyers. His wife and ‘Thinking Out Loud’ co-writer Amy Wadge were seen in tears.
The lawsuit was brought forward by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who wrote “Let’s Get It On” WITH Gaye. They filed the civil suit in 2017 and alleged the songwriter, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing stole from the soul classic, violating federal copyright law. The trail saw Sheeran take the stand in defense of his Grammy-winning song.
The trial lasted two-week and jurors reached this unanimous verdict after three hours of deliberation.
During one of his appearances, Sheeran had told jurors he composed ‘Thinking Out Loud’ independently with British songwriter Wadge, who wasn’t mentioned in the lawsuit. When asked about the toll of the case on him, the singer had earlier this week vowed to quit music if found guilty, stating, ‘If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping.”
Last April, Sheeran had taken the stand involving another one of his hits, 2017’s Shape of You. A London judge ruled in his favor and awarded him over $ 1.1 million in legal fees.
Following his win, Ed Sheeran according to ABC News spoke against what he called dangerous copyright claims. The musician told reporters outside Manhattan federal court late Thursday that he was happy that the jury ruled in his favor. He added, ‘But at the same time, I’m unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.”
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