Ed Sheeran must now face a jury trial over accusations that he lifted parts of his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” from the 1972 Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On.” The news was first reported by painting.
The move comes by a federal judge blocking the singer-songwriter’s request to have the case, which has been ongoing since 2018. The parties filing “Thinking Out Loud” copyright claims – who are partial owners of Gaye’s song – are seeking $100 million in damages. Of the British musician, however, his lawyer is challenging the lawsuit by citing the allegedly stolen song parts as “rumour”, and thus no copyright infringement lawsuit is justified.
According to the report, Sheeran will have to appear before a federal grand jury in Manhattan as ordered by Judge Lewis Stanton, who ruled Thursday that there is no “bright line rule” for the dispute proposed by attorneys.
When the lawsuit was first filed, Sheeran allegedly elevated the chord progression and harmonic tempo of the Jay track. Now, Sheeran’s accusers have modified their allegations to acknowledge Sheeran’s attorney, agreeing that the song’s elements are “familiar and unprotectable.” However, they argue that their blend is what makes them exclusive to Gaye – and thus protected by copyright law.
Sheeran has had to fight many similar cases in the past, including lawsuits over “The Picture” (which were settled out of court), “The Rest of Our Lives” (which was dismissed at Sheeran’s request), and recently won a case arguing that he had stolen” shape for you.” Shortly after the ruling, the singer released a video statement expressing that these issues “really hurt the songwriting industry.”
He continued, “While we are clearly pleased with the outcome, I feel that allegations like this are very common now that we have become a culture in which a claim is being made with the idea that a settlement would be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim.”
Several years ago, Gay Catalog was embroiled in another lawsuit that made headlines by his heirs against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and others for “Blurred Lines,” resulting in $5.3 million in damages to the family. However, the issue was released by a company called Structured Asset Sales, which owns a third of the song’s shares via “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Townsend.
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