Ed Sheeran Cleared Of Copyright Infringement Charge In Marvin Gaye’s Classic “Let’s Get It On”
A federal jury in New York has concluded that British singer Ed Sheeran did not steal key components of Marvin Gaye’s 1970s classic tune “Let’s Get It On” when he created his hit song “Thinking Out Loud.” The verdict came after a two-week trial that featured a courtroom performance by Sheeran, who defended himself against the lawsuit by Ed Townsend’s heirs who co-created the 1973 soul classic with Gaye.
As the jury answered the single question of whether Sheeran proved he didn’t infringe upon the copyright in the affirmative, the crooner briefly put his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer. Sheeran later addressed reporters outside of the courthouse, expressing both joy and frustration at the outcome of the case.
At the trial’s start, attorney Ben Crump told jurors on behalf of the Townsend heirs that Sheeran himself sometimes performed the two songs together. The jury saw video of a concert in Switzerland in which Sheeran can be heard segueing on stage between “Let’s Get It On” and “Thinking Out Loud.” Crump said that was “smoking gun” proof he stole from the famous tune.
When Sheeran testified, he repeatedly picked up a guitar resting behind him on the witness stand to demonstrate how he seamlessly creates “mashups” of songs during concerts to “spice it up a bit” for his sizeable crowds. He insisted that he stole nothing from “Let’s Get it On” when he wrote his tune.
Sheeran’s song, which came out in 2014, was a hit, winning a Grammy for song of the year. His lawyers argued that the songs shared versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression freely available to all songwriters. Townsend’s heirs said in their lawsuit that “Thinking Out Loud” had “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” that made it obvious that it had copied “Let’s Get It On.”
After the verdict, Sheeran spoke for about 10 minutes with the plaintiffs, including the daughter of Ed Townsend, who said she had hoped the lawsuit would not result in a trial, “but I have to protect my father’s legacy.”
Gaye was killed in 1984 at age 44, shot by his father as he tried to intervene in a fight between his parents. He had been a Motown superstar since the 1960s, though his songs released in the 1970s made him a generational musical giant. Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit “For Your Love,” was a singer, songwriter, and lawyer who died in 2003. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, testified during the trial that she thought Sheeran was “a great artist with a great future.”
This verdict may have impacts on future cases involving copyright infringement claims in the music industry.
