Ed Sheeran beats copyright appeal over 'Thinking Out Loud' song

By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) -Ed Sheeran, his record label Warner Music and music publisher Sony Music Publishing persuaded a U.S. appeals court on Friday to uphold a decision that his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not illegally copy Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a lower-court judge's dismissal of a lawsuit from Structured Asset Sales, which owns rights to the Gaye song that previously belonged to co-writer Ed Townsend.

Structured Asset Sales' owner - investment banker David Pullman - said the company was reviewing all of its options after the decision. Donald Zakarin, an attorney for Sheeran and the labels, said they were "gratified" that the 2nd Circuit upheld the ruling.

In May 2023, Sheeran defeated a separate copyright lawsuit by Townsend's heirs, who own a separate share of his interest in "Let's Get It On," in a closely watched jury trial.

SAS sued Sheeran in 2018. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed its case following the verdict in the heirs' case.

Stanton found that the musical elements Sheeran allegedly copied were too common to merit copyright protection.

The appeals court agreed, saying that protecting the elements could stifle creativity, and that Sheeran's and Gaye's songs were not similar enough for Sheeran's to have infringed on SAS' copyright.

It also rejected the argument that Stanton should have reviewed Gaye's actual recording, which according to Pullman included key elements that Sheeran copied, rather than focus on the song's sheet music deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office.

SAS has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on its rights in Gaye's recording. That case is currently on hold.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington and Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rod Nickel)