Ed Sheeran Faces 'Thinking Out Loud' Lawsuit : Did He Copied Marvin Gaye's Song?

After successfully winning his most recent copyright lawsuit in the United Kingdom, it looks like Ed Sheeran would be facing courts again in the coming months as he was called again to face the charges for his other hit song "Thinking Out Loud."

Earlier this year, Sheeran's songwriting process has gone under the microscope as his 2017 hit track "Shape of You" was accused to have been lifted from a rather unknown track that contained similar elements.

If Sheeran faced a smaller opponent on his previous trial, the singer is now in a legal battle with music icon Marvin Gaye's estate who is accusing him of stealing key pieces from a 1973 song.

Ed Sheeran Faces New 'Thinking Out Loud' Lawsuit

According to Billboard, Ed Sheeran's attempt to junk the high-profile case has been unsuccessful as a federal judge decided that he would be facing a jury trial.

Ed Sheeran's defense was simple - they are arguing that the claims that "Thinking Out Loud" copied Let's Get It On" are invalid because the elements that he was accused of stealing were "not unique enough" to be covered by a copyright case claim initially.

The court defended its case by pointing out that there has been "no bright rule" set in place to decide such claims in court. Judge Louis Stanton stood his ground and said that Ed Sheeran had to make his arguments in front of the court and before a jury.

"There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work. A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements," Stanton said in his ruling.

As of this writing, Ed Sheeran's lawyers have not yet given any comment on the recent decision.

Currently, the date for Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" trial has not yet been placed, but it would occur in a "blockbuster trial" in a Manhattan federal courthouse either this year or the next one.

Ed Sheeran Won UK 'Shape of You' Copyright Case

Last April 2022, Ed Sheeran made headlines before and after winning his high-profile copyright case in the United Kingdom for "Shape of You."

Judge Antony Zacaroli ultimately decided that Ed Sheeran did not copy elements from the 2017 song "Oh Why" from Sam Chokri and Ross O'Donoughe, ruling that they had no evidence that he copied elements of the song on "Shape of You."

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Ed Sheeran