Ed Sheeran to testify in court as Marvin Gaye lawsuit trial begins in New York
Singer is being sued by heirs of Gaye’s co-writer Ed Townsend
Ed Sheeran is expected to appear in court as the trial over the singer’s alleged copying of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” begins in New York today (24 April).
In 2017, the British singer was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 soul classic.
They claim that Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” has “striking similarities” to “Let’s Get It On” and “overt common elements” that violate the song’s copyright.
Sheeran’s attorneys have said the songs’ undeniable structural symmetry points only to the foundations of popular music.
“The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters,” they said in a court filing.
The lawsuit will finally begin on Monday in the Manhattan federal courtroom overseen by judge Louis L Stanton. Jury selection and opening statements will take place on Monday.
Sheeran will testify in the case, which is expected to last for a week.
The jury in the case are asked to only take in the raw elements of melody, harmony and rhythm – rather than the lyrics – when considering the legal similarities between the two songs.
Townsend’s family’s lawyers argue that artists including Boyz II Men have performed seamless mashups of the two songs on stage, with Sheeran himself even segueing into “Let’s Get It On” during live performances of “Thinking Out Loud.”
Gaye’s estate is not involved in the lawsit, which names Sheeran’s label Atlantic Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing also as defendants.
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In April last year, Sheeran won another copyright lawsuit after he was accused of plagiarising his song “Shape of You” from Sami Chokri’s 2015 track “Oh Why”.
In a statement following the judge’s verdict, Sheeran’s lawyers Simon Goodbody and Andrew Forbes said: “The judgment is an emphatic vindication of the creative genius of Ed, Johnny and Steve - as they have always maintained, they created ‘Shape Of You’ together, without copying from anyone else.”