Marvin Gaye copyright claimants case versus Ed Sheeran will be 'tough to win'

26 April 2023 , 11:23

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Ed Sheeran has been in court in Manhattan (Image: Getty Images)

The copyright case against Ed Sheeran is a "very difficult" one, but "must be legitimate", claims an entertainment law attorney.

The case at Manhattan Federal Court is expected to last the week and sees the heirs of the late Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Let's Get It On with Marvin Gaye, claim Ed, 32, copied parts of Marvin's hit Let's Get It On to use on his own track Thinking Out Loud.

Entertainment, libel and copyright law attorney Tre Lovell, told The Mirror the claimants face an uphill battle to prove the copyright infringement on the 2014 tune.

He said: "This looks to be a tough case to win.

"It’s very difficult to prove a music copyright infringement case. Artists share musical components from each other all the time, so the issue comes down to whether one artist used too much of another artist’s music, and whether that usage was substantially similar."

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He added that while there have been instances where a judge has awarded millions of dollars to the plaintiff, the trial court has then reversed the verdict and found that, as a matter of law, there was no infringement, thus the plaintiff lost despite what the jury found.

Ed Sheeran is accused of copying a Marvin Gaye song (Getty Images)

However, he said that due to the stringent vetting system for such a case to even make it to court, it clearly states that it must be a legitimate case.

Speaking about how damaging a loss could be for the Shape of You singer, Tre continued: "If Sheeran is found liable, then an entirely new analysis will take place regarding damages which will include how much money Sheeran has made from his song and what portion should go to the plaintiff.

"It’s a very complicated process."

Dad-of-two Ed cut a solemn figure when he arrived at court on day two of the trial yesterday.

The case follows the hitmaker being awarded more than £900,000 in legal costs last year after another copyright claim.

The singer testified on Tuesday (Getty Images)

At a trial in March, Ed and his Shape Of You co-writers Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon faced accusations that their track ripped off a 2015 song by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue.

It was alleged that an "oh I" hook in Shape Of You was "strikingly similar" to an "oh why" refrain in their own track and issued a claim for "copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement".

Ed denied the allegations and said he "always tried to be completely fair" when it comes to crediting collaborators and contributors on his albums.

After the London-based trial, Mr Justice Zacaroli said Ed "neither deliberately nor subconsciously" copied a phrase for his Shape Of You Track and made a verdict in favour of Ed and his co-songwriters.

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