Ed Sheeran has been cleared of allegations that he copied parts of Marvin Gaye’s 1970 classic “Let’s Get It On” for his hit song “Thinking Out Loud.” A federal jury concluded on Thursday that Sheeran did not steal any key components of the song.
The lawsuit was filed by the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye. The estate claimed that Sheeran copied the melody, harmony, and rhythm of the song for “Thinking Out Loud,” which became a massive hit in 2014 and won a Grammy for Song of the Year.
During the trial, Sheeran testified that he had never heard “Let’s Get It On” before and that he created “Thinking Out Loud” from his own musical influences. He also played a mashup of the two songs to demonstrate the differences between them.
Sheeran’s lawyers argued that the songs shared versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression freely available to all songwriters.
Sheeran expressed his gratitude telling PEOPLE magazine, “I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed. It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.”
The singer also shared that he missed his grandmother’s funeral to fight the lawsuit. He told gatherers outside of the courtroom, “These claims need to be stopped so that the creative process can carry on, and we can all just go back to making music. At the same time, we absolutely need trusted individuals, real experts who help support the process of protecting copyright.”
Read his full statement here.
Ed Sheeran Found Not Liable in Copyright Lawsuit: 'I Feel the Truth Was Heard' (Exclusive) https://t.co/Pcgfn0ktcH
— People (@people) May 4, 2023