Ed Sheeran heading to trial in US over 'Let’s Get It On' copyright complaint

Ed Sheeran has been ordered to stand trial in the US for a $100 million copyright case following claims the Sussex singer-songwriter plagiarised his hit 2014 song 'Thinking Out Loud' from Marvin Gaye’s 'Let’s Get It On'.

According to People magazine, Judge Louis Stanton explained the lack of any kind of “bright-line rule” and added that a jury would be tasked with finding a resolution for the matter.

“There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work,” the judge wrote. “A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements."

This issue with the 'Let's Get It On' co-writer, Ed Townsend, started back in 2016. Townsend’s family sued the singer over 'Let's Get It On' after selling off a third of their shares to Structured Asset Sales $100 million that same year.

Meanwhile, Sheeran’s lawyers had argued that the lawsuit was invalid because the elements that were similar in the two songs (known as "interpolations") were not unique enough to be covered by copyright in the first place. They cited a number of other songs, including The Temptations’ 'Since I Lost My Baby', as examples of tracks with similar elements.

The judge cited a disagreement between musical experts as a reason for his decision.

“Although the two musical compositions are not identical, a jury could find that the overlap between the songs’ combination of chord progression and harmonic rhythm is very close,” Stanton said.

The high-profile civil trial will go ahead in Manhattan, with a date yet to be set. Back in April; Sheeran, Steven McCutcheon and Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid were cleared of copying in his chart-topping 2017 track 'Shape of You' in a separate case in London.

Structured Asset Sales (SAS) have sought $100 million (€103 million) in damages, alleging that Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge “copied and exploited, without authorisation or credit,” the 1973 Gaye song, “including but not limited to the melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation and looping”.

Stanton ruled that jurors must decide whether SAS can include concert revenue in damages, rejecting Sheeran’s argument that ticket sales were not tied to the alleged infringement. Sheeran’s 2014-15 tour brought in $150 million in gross revenue, according to Pollstar.

SAS has also filed a second case, which is on pause, while a separate suit by another portion of Townsend’s estate is awaiting trial. An attorney for SAS, Hillel Parness, said the company was pleased with the ruling.

Thinking Out Loud went to No 1 in the UK and spent 51 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 after it was released in 2014.

At the 'Shape of You' trial in London in March, Sheeran and his co-writers faced accusations that a hook on their track ripped off 'Oh Why', a 2015 song by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue.

After a high court judge ruled in Sheeran’s favour, the singer said he hoped it would put an end to “future baseless claims”, which he said were “damaging to the songwriting industry”.