British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran expressed joy after a US jury found he did not copy Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic ‘Let’s Get It On’ when he wrote his 2014 hit song ‘Thinking Out Loud’. The musician called the ruling a win for creative freedom.
Ed Sheeran hugged his team inside a Manhattan court on Thursday after the verdict was read out.
‘It's devastating to be accused of stealing someone else's song when we've put so much work into our livelihoods," Sheeran said outside the courthouse following the verdict. "I want to thank the jury for making the decision that will help protect the creative process for song writers here in the United States and all around the world,’ Sheeran said.
‘I'm just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake,’ Sheeran added.
In their lawsuit, Townsend's heirs said that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ had ‘striking similarities’ that made it obvious that it had copied ‘Let's Get It On’. The plaintiffs had asked for a share of the profits from the Grammy-winning song.
Last year, Sheeran won a trial in London in a separate copyright case over his song ‘Shape of You’.
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