Ed Sheeran walked out of the Rolls Building in London on Thursday, the fifth day of his High Court trial, with a sad expression on his face.
According to the BBC, the pair is suing Sheeran for copyright infringement.
He is accused of copying the concept for his 2017 song "Shape of You" from composers Sam Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue.
They say that Sheeran plagiarized their 2015 song "Oh Why," which was released under the artist name Sami Switch, and used it in his own successful song that sounds "strikingly similar."
As explained by Andrew Sutcliffe, a lawyer representing the composers, Sheeran treats well-known songwriters differently from lesser-known songwriters. He also claims that the "Photographs" singer "borrows ideas and throws them into his songs, sometimes he will credit it, other times he will not," according to Sutcliffe.
Although the charges have been vigorously denied by the 31-year-old West Yorkshire native, he has told the court that he includes the names of other lesser-known artists on his tracks. He also included excerpts from his songs "Visiting Hours" and "Shivers" in his speech.
He worked on "Shape of You" with Steve Mac and Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, both of whom were present in court this week, according to the BBC.
When questioned in court, Sutcliffe indicated that there is strong evidence that the process of creating "Shape of You" includes the process of gathering ideas.
On the other hand, Sheeran fired back, stating, "You think it's overwhelming; I disagree with that."
As previously noted, the problematic piece of the song was "very brief." However, the singer added that if she had heard "Oh Why" at the time and had referenced it, she would have made "every effort" to clear her name.
Another eyewitness and colleague, Steven McCutcheon, reportedly described Ed Sheeran as a "whirlwind of ideas" when they first met to begin working on the disputed 2017 song, "Shape of You."
Sheeran began singing "a flood of melodic and lyrical ideas" at his London studio in 2016, according to the producer's witness evidence, and he added that he had never "before collaborated with someone who worked so quickly" before.
Continuing, McCutcheon via The Sun, "Usually, one captures numerous takes of a vocalist's performances, which are afterwards assembled to select the best elements from each." That was not Ed's style."
It was he who described the singer-songwriter as "wonderful."
As of the time of this writing, the case and trial were still in progress.
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