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British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran on Tuesday defeated a second copyright lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan over similarities between his hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic What might have felt like double jeopardy has turned into a double win for Ed Sheeran, as the pop superstar prevailed in yet a second copyright infringement lawsuit filed over the song “Thinking Out Loud,.” The same judge who oversaw the previous case dismissed this additional suit on Tuesday before it ever got to trial. This like-minded lawsuit had been filed by Structured Asset Sales LLC, another party with an interest in the 1973 Marvin Gaye hit “Let’s Get It On,” similarly contending that Sheeran’s 2014 smash infringed on the previous song’s copyright. The company owns part of songwriter Ed Townsend’s share of the Gaye tune; it was heirs of Townsend who filed the previous unsuccessful lawsuit. The result was much the same, with or without a trial, with the elements shared by the two tunes being judged “common.”

A federal jury in Manhattan has sided with Ed Sheeran in the plagiarism trial that saw the pop songwriter accused of stealing elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” in the writing of Sheeran’s 2014 track “Thinking Out Loud.” The suit was brought by heirs of the estate of Ed Townsend, a writer of “Let’s Get It On.” They contended that “Thinking Out Loud” used specific musical elements such as harmony and melody of “Let’s Get It On.” A video of Ed Sheeran performing a mash-up of “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On” was used as evidence, though the singer testified that he and the song’s co-writer Amy Wadge were in fact inspired by Van Morrison’s music. Read Next: Ed Sheeran says he’ll retire from music if he loses Marvin Gaye plagiarism lawsuit Deliberations began on Wednesday (May 4) after the conclusion of the testimony.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Ed Sheeran was found not liable Thursday in Manhattan federal court on a copyright claim alleging that he lifted key elements from the Marvin Gaye ’70s hit “Let’s Get It On” for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” The verdict that found him not liable for copyright infringement came after just a few hours of deliberation Thursday. Standing outside the courtroom, Sheeran read a statement for reporters that made it clear how frustrated he felt at being accused of plagiarism and having the case reach trial. “It looks like I’m not going to have to give up my day job after all,” Sheeran said, alluding to a statement he’d made on the stand earlier this week suggesting that he would feel compelled to quit music if the verdict went against him.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Testimony wrapped up in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial at the end of the court day Wednesday, as the judge sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.” U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton’s instructions may have left a high bar in the jury’s minds for just how much evidence the plaintiffs’ attorneys needed to have established to prove that Sheeran and his co-writer actually copied Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when they wrote the pop hit “Thinking Out Loud.” According to Insider, Stanton told jurors that the lawyers for the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, needed to “prove by a preponderance of the evidence… that Sheeran actually copied and wrongfully copied ‘Let’s Get It On'” — as opposed to the coincidental, negligible similarities argued by Sheeran’s attorneys.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic A copyright trial in a Manhattan federal courtroom pitting Ed Sheeran against the heirs of a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” saw the pop star taking the stand Tuesday, offering strong retorts to attorneys’ arguments that he had stolen elements of the 1970s hit for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” One piece of evidence that the judge had left in limbo in pre-trial hearings was a fan-shot video of Sheeran mashing up the two songs in concert in 2014. U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton, who had previously left the matter of whether to allow the medley unresolved, ultimately ruled Tuesday that a 30-second clip be played, despite Sheeran’s attorneys’ argument that it was “irrelevant and prejudicial.”

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Ed Sheeran’s legal team last week had one last go at trying to stop one of the song-theft lawsuits relating to his song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ from proceeding to trial, urging the judge overseeing the case to reconsider a recent decision he made about the copyright dispute.It’s alleged that Sheeran ripped off the Marvin Gaye song ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’. Based on those allegations, the estate of ‘Let’s Get It On’ co-writer Ed Townsend sued Sheeran for copyright infringement.

A federal judge has ordered Ed Sheeran to stand trial over accusations that his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” ripped off Marvin Gaye’s iconic “Let’s Get It On”.

Thinking Out Loud.”The “Bad Habits” hitmaker’s legal team previously asked Judge Louis Stanton, who presides over the Southern District of New York, to dismiss the case on the grounds that the similar parts of the song were “commonplace.”However, they were hit with bad news after Stanton ruled on Thursday that the case is heading to court.“There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work,” Judge Stanton said, according to Billboard’s initial report.“A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements.”Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns a partial stake in the famous song, is seeking an eye-watering $100 million in damages.According to the original suit, SAS alleges Sheeran’s chord progression in “Thinking Out Loud” is too equivalent to “Let’s Get It On.”A trial date has not yet been set but it will take place in Manhattan Federal Court.The Post has reached out to Sheeran’s reps for comment.Sheeran’s hit song received two Grammy wins for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

Ed Sheeran will enter his third set of court proceedings over his songwriting, with the musician set to face a jury trial following a suit from a stakeholder in the estate of Marvin Gaye‘s co-writer.The ruling came yesterday (September 29) from Judge Louis Stanton, a senior district judge for the Southern District of New York. Per Billboard, the case will determine whether Ed Sheeran’s hit single ‘Thinking Out Loud’ is in breach of copyright due to its similarities with Gaye’s 1973 single ‘Let’s Get It On’.The suit came from Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a stake in the copyrights of the estate of Ed Townsend – a co-writer on ‘Let’s Get It On’.

Thania Garcia Ed Sheeran must now face a jury trial in regards to accusations that he lifted bits of his 2014 song “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye‘s 1972 classic “Let’s Get It On.” The news was first reported by Billboard. The move comes on part of a federal judge who barred the singer-songwriter’s request to toss the case, which has been ongoing since 2018. The parties bringing the “Thinking Out Loud” copyright claims — who are partial owners of the Gaye song — are seeking $100 million in damages from the British musician, however, his attorneys are contesting the lawsuit by citing the alleged stolen song bits as “commonplace,” and therefore not warranted for a copyright infringement claim.

Ed Sheeran is heading to court.

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