Ed Sheeran can finally take a large sigh of relief as the legal battle on his song "Thinking Out Loud" has finally ended.
This came almost five months after he received a jury verdict that he did not infringe on the 1973 Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On."
Ed Sheeran 'Thinking Out Loud' Lawsuit Dropped
According to Billboard, the accusers who appealed the decision that Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe on Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" has finally conceded.
The heirs of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of Marvin Gaye on "Let's Get It On," accused Sheeran in 2016 of infringing the classic song. When Sheeran received the triumphant jury decision earlier this year, they had since continued to appeal the ruling.
However, based on the publication's obtained court documents, the appeal has since been withdrawn with prejudice. This meant that the Townsend heirs could not refile the case at any point in the future. Meanwhile, the reason why they dropped the case was not mentioned nor reported.
What Happened On Ed Sheeran 'Thinking Out Loud' Lawsuit?
In 2016, Kathryn Townsend Griffin and other Townsend heirs accused Sheeran of copying the 1973 classic hit on his 2014 smash song.
They argued that Sheeran had "knowingly and intentionally infringed" the song as he performed the song side by side in a concert in 2014, where he acknowledged the song's similarities.
However, Sheeran's lawyers asserted that both songs used a very common musical component that can be found in various songs throughout the music industry and the pop genre altogether.
They argued that the commonplace musical building blocks cannot be "monopolized" under copyright law.
On May 4, 2023, the jury decided that Sheeran did not infringe on the track and that Sheeran and Amy Wadge had independently written the song.
The publication noted that should Sheeran have lost the lawsuit, it would have "broader" implications on the music industry and the songwriting process in general.
"I'm obviously very happy with the outcome of the case. And it looks like I'm not having to retire from my day job after all," Sheeran said at the time. "But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all."
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