NEW YORK, NY– A jury has concluded that singer Ed Sheeran did not steal from Marvin Gaye’s song to create his own music.
The Ed Townsend estate claimed that the British singer used key parts of Gaye’s 1970s classic tune “Let’s Get It On” to create his song “Thinking Out Loud.”
The estate claimed that they believed “Thinking Out Loud” had so many similarities to “Let’s Get It On” and that it violated the song’s copyright protection. Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Townsend heirs stated that the songs were so similar that Sheeran often performed the songs together.
Ed Sheeran told the jury that he often plays mashups at his concert to “spice things up a bit,” and insisted that he did not steal from the song written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend when he was writing his own.
He also went on to say that he believed the trial was a threat to all musicians who create their own music.
Sheeran’s lawyer also reported that the songs shared versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression but the progression is available to all artists.
The verdict in favor of Sheeran and his team was delivered Thursday following a two-week trial.
Kathryn Townsend Griffin, who is the daughter of Ed Townsend testified during the trial that she believes Ed Sheeran is “a great artist with a great future,” and that she hoped the lawsuit would not result in a trial “but I have to protect my father’s legacy.”