Ed Sheeran will have to face a jury in a copyright infringement lawsuit that alleges that he copied elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud.”
Judge Louis Stanton recently ruled against Sheeran’s request to dismiss the suit and insisted that a jury should decide whether he and bosses at Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Atlantic Records should be liable. The lawsuit also benefits the heirs of late producer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On.”
In his, Judge Stanton confessed he couldn’t decide if Gaye’s 1973 hit deserved copyright protection in the case, but revealed footage from a Sheeran performance, during which he sings both songs, could help a jury make a decision.
Sheeran has denied copying from Gaye.
Gaye’s three kids already have a major win under their belts after being awarded millions over similarities between Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
That case launched in 2013, and in 2018, Thicke and fellow songwriter Pharrell Williams were ordered to pay almost $5 million. They were first ordered to pay $7.4 million in a 2015 trial, but the figure was later reduced.
The legal teams for Thicke and Williams launched various legal challenges against the verdict, but December 10th the case was settled once and for all, and a California federal judge issued a judgment for almost $5 million against the duo.