Ed Sheeran Wins Copyright Case
By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) – Ed Sheeran, Warner Music, and Sony Music Publishing successfully persuaded a U.S. appeals court to uphold the ruling that Sheeran's 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not illegally copy Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On."
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan supported a lower-court judge's dismissal of Structured Asset Sales' lawsuit. This organization owns rights to Gaye's song, previously belonging to co-writer Ed Townsend.
Investment banker David Pullman, owner of Structured Asset Sales, along with one attorney, did not respond to request for comments. Similarly, Sheeran's lawyer and spokespersons did not provide immediate responses.
In May 2023, Sheeran also won a copyright lawsuit from Townsend's heirs, who own a different share of the rights to "Let's Get It On," in a widely followed jury trial.
Structured Asset Sales sued Sheeran in 2018, but U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed the case following the verdict in the heirs' trial, finding the musical elements Sheeran allegedly copied too common for copyright protection.
The appeals court agreed, stating that protecting those elements might hinder creativity and found the songs not significantly similar enough to constitute infringement.
The court also dismissed claims that Judge Stanton should evaluate Gaye's actual recording instead of the song's sheet music recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office.
SAS has filed a separate lawsuit against Sheeran based on rights in Gaye's recording, which is currently on hold.
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