“Ed Sheeran Cleared of Plagiarism Allegations in ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Lawsuit”

british artist Ed Sheeran expressed his joy and relief Thursday to learn of a jury ruling in a Manhattan court that found he did not plagiarize Marvin Gaye’s song “Let’s Get It On” in composing his global hit “Thinking Out Loud.”

Sheeran stood up and hugged his legal team upon hearing that the jury found that he had “independently” created his song in 2014, which he said is good news for creative freedom.

The musician told reporters that he was “very happy” but “incredibly frustrated that an unfounded lawsuit” like this had gone to trial.

The Civil lawsuit filed by the estate of Ed Townsend, co-author of Gaye’s hitwhich alleged that Sheeran had used the harmonic progression and rhythmic elements of Gaye’s classic without permission.

The heirs they were seeking a share of the profits the song generated for Sheeran.

“If the jury had decided otherwise, we might have had to say goodbye to the creative freedom of composers,” Sheeran told reporters outside of court.

“It’s devastating and insulting to be accused of stealing other people’s songs when we do so much to earn a living,” he added. “I’m just a guy with a guitar who loves to write music for people to enjoy,” he said, before adding, “I am not and will not allow myself to be a piggy bank to be shaken.”

“Composers’ Alphabet”

It took the jury nearly three hours to decide whether Sheeran’s song and Gaye’s classic were substantially similar and whether their common components are protected by copyright law.

Sheeran, 32, testified over several days, sometimes guitar in hand, playing to prove to the jury that the 1-3-4-5 chord progression that was in question is a basic block of popular music that belongs to no one.

The English singer said that he writes most of his songs in a day, and assured that he had written “Thinking Out Loud” together with fellow songwriter Amy Wadge, with whom he often works.

A musicologist summoned by the defense told the court that the four-note sequence in question had been used in many songs before Gaye’s 1973 hit.

“These chords are common building blocks,” Sheeran said Thursday. “They are a composer’s ‘alphabet’, our toolkit.”

“They don’t belong to anyone, nor the way they touch each other, just as the color blue doesn’t belong to anyone,” he said.

Plaintiff Kathryn Townsend Griffin left the courtroom, saying simply as she walked past reporters, “God is good all the time, God is good all the time.”

Expectation in the industry

The music industry was very aware of this trial as it could have set a precedent for the protection of composers’ creations and opened the door to legal changes in other parts of the world.

This was the second trial in a year for Sheeran. Last April he won a similar case in London for his song “Shape Of You”.

“Thinking Out Loud” earned Sheeran a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2016.

There have been numerous copyright lawsuits of this type in recent years. (I)