After facing a huge legal obstacle last year with his song "Shape of You," Ed Sheeran had to defend another track of him to the court after he was again accused of copying another song released in the past. The Grammy-winning singer is being sued for allegedly copying Marvin Gaye's song "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 record, "Thinking Out Loud."
Things are brewing in court, with one of the opposing lawyers even saying that Sheeran has already "confessed" to doing the deed in the past.
Ed Sheeran 'Thinking Out Loud' Copyright Lawsuit
Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" has been subjected to a copyright infringement lawsuit in the state of New York after the late Marvin Gaye's team accused him of copying the 1973 hit track, "Let's Get It On."
According to the lawsuit, "Thinking" allegedly copied the rhythm, the ascending four-chord sequence, which references "striking similarities" with "Let's Get It On."
However, as per Sheeran's defense, it is common for pop songs to "fit over" others, even referencing how The Beatles' "Let it Be" and Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" similarities.
The singer tried to dismiss the lawsuit last year, pointing out that the elements of the song were "too common to be protected by copyright."
According to BBC, the motion was rejected as it was ruled that a work can be copyrightable despite being made up of a compilation of unprotectable elements.
"There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work," Judge Louis Stanton said in a statement back then.
Ed Sheeran 'Thinking Out Loud,' 'Let's Get It On' Mashup Performance
More so, Sheeran's attorney, Irene Farkas, argued that the song was written "without copying Gaye" as it featured elements commonly used in pop music.
But, as per Associated Press, opposing attorney Ben Crump asserted that Sheeran "confessed" to copying Marvin Gaye's song when he performed the song live in a live show. In November 2014, Sheeran performed a "mashup" of the two songs at the Maag Event Hall in Zurich, Switzerland.
Sheeran retaliated on the damning accusation, saying that he'd be an "idiot" to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people if he had done what he was accused of.
"It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for 100s of years," he added.
It is expected that the lawsuit will be heard for a week in New York with the help of a jury determining whether it infringed on the song or not.
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