Ed Sheeran Found Not Guilty In Copyright Infringement Case Over Marvin Gaye Song
A jury has reached an unanimous verdict in the copyright infringement lawsuit involving Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” Sheeran was found not guilty after three hours of deliberations, NBC News reports.
“I’m obviously very happy with the outcome of the case and it looks like I’m not having to retire from my day job after all,” joked the 32-year-old outside of the courtroom. He added that he felt “frustrated” by the “baseless claims” and praised the jury’s decision.
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“Like artists everywhere, Amy [Wadge] and I work hard to independently create songs which are often based around real life and personal experience,” he said. “It’s devastating to be accused of stealing someone else’s songs when we put so much work into our livelihoods. I’m just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”
The trial began over a week ago on April 25 in New York City. The actual lawsuit was first filed in 2017 by the estate of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer on the hit R&B record, and claimed the two songs had “striking similarities” and shared “overt common elements.” Townsend, who died in 2003, is listed as the primary songwriter of “Let’s Get It On.” He and his estate has earned two-thirds of the royalties from it, The New York Times notes.
Throughout the trial, Sheeran played his guitar to refute the allegations and even threatened to quit music if he lost. According to the New York Post, he expressed, “If that happens, I’m done—I’m stopping. I find it really insulting to work my whole life as a singer-songwriter and diminish it.”
Ben Crump, the attorney representing Townsend’s estate, tried to use a video of Sheeran performing a mashup of the songs in question as a “smoking gun” in the trial. To which the British pop star argued, “If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that. Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs […] You could go from ‘Let it Be’ to ‘No Woman, No Cry’ and switch back.”
Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the late songwriter’s daughter, later mentioned during her testimony, “I have to protect my father’s legacy.” They were seeking $100 million in damages. Gaye’s estate, though, was not involved in the lawsuit whatsoever.
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