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Ed Sheeran is expected to face a lawsuit in the United States over claims of having copied his 2014 song Thinking Out Loud from singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye's 1973 track Let's Get It On.
The singer's legal team's bid to dismiss the copyright infringement suit against him has been denied by U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan. He noted that the jury must make a decision on whether the two songs are similar or not.
In a report from Billboard, the Judge said:
"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.”
The trial date has not been announced, but it is expected to take place at the Manhattan Federal Court.
What is the copyright infringement act in the United States?
Bitlaw says that the copyright act of 1976 "prevents unauthorized copying of a work of authorship." While anyone may copy ideas contained in the original work, they cannot directly copy the written description.
Copyrights of your work can be registered in the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. However, according to Bitlaw, newly created work does not require registration, as it is directly protected under copyright law.
Exploring the copyright suit against Ed Sheeran
Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns a partial stake in Marvin Gaye's song, launched the suit in 2018. It was alleged that Thinking Out Loud's chord progression is similar to Let’s Get It On.
SAS is seeking $100 million in damages from Ed Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge for having "copied and exploited, without authorization or credit" to the Marvin Gaye classic, "including but not limited to the melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping."
Ed Sheeran and his co-writer John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon received £900,000 in legal costs after they won a UK High Court copyright suit over Sheeran's song Shape Of You.
The claim was that Ed Sheeran's 2017 release was allegedly copied from Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue's 2015 song Oh Why.
In the hearing, Justice Zacaroli said that the singer "neither deliberately nor subconsciously" copied from Sami and Ross' track. He also spoke against the "baseless claims" of copyright being brought upon singers and songwriters.
Ed Sheeran said that copyright claims were incredibly common and it was a "culture" where a claim is made with the belief that the settlement will be cheaper than taking the claim to court. He added that such claims without any basis are quite damaging to the industry.
The Perfect singer noted:
"Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and I hope with this ruling it means in the future baseless claims like this can be avoided. This really does have to end."
U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton also mentioned that the jury had to decide whether SAS could ask for concert revenue in damages. However, Ed Sheeran's legal team claimed that concert revenue, including ticket sales, is not a part of the alleged infringement.
Marvin Gaye's song Let's Get It On was released in June 1973 and became a top hit in September of the same year. Ed Sheeran, whose song Thinking Out Loud was released in 2014 as part of his album X peaked in second position on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2015.
