Ed Sheeran Wins 'Shape of You' Copyright Case

justjared.com:

Ed Sheeran has won a copyright battle in UK court over his 2017 hit “Shape of You.” Billboard reports that a judge ruled that the star did not copy songwriters Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue‘s 2015 track “On Why.” Click inside to read more… “While we’re obviously happy with the result, I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court.

Even if there’s no base for the claim,” Ed said in a statement. “It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.

There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify.” Judge Antony Zacaroli stated that there was no concrete evidence that Ed had intentionally or “subconsciously” copied from “Oh Why” when he wrote “Shape of You.” He added that “while there are similarities” between the two songs, “there are also significant differences.” He also disputed the argument from Sami and Ross‘ attorneys that the speed with which Ed had written the song implied he had copied it from somewhere. “I reject that submission,” the judge wrote. “The clear picture gained from all those that work with him in writing songs is that he has a rare ability to come up with lyrical and melodic ideas, and connect them together to create catchy songs, at great speed.” Ed has been sued for copyright infringement twice before.

He was sued over his song “Photograph,” which settled out of court, and was hit with a $100 million lawsuit for “Thinking Out Loud” in 2018.