By LawInspectsIt’s finally time that we talk about the Ed Sheeran Lawsuit problem, and it is not just a one-off thing, nah, he is kinda frustrated about it all since he has gotten in many legal troubles for his songs already. Let’s talk about some of the previous cases, his songs that caused the problems, and the very recent case where we’re seeing another Ed Sheeran Lawsuit in action. So, here we go.
Why’s Ed Sheeran Always in Court?
First things first, Ed Sheeran is a songwriter whom many adore. Still, it seems lawsuits have always followed him around. In the first place, what really set the ball rolling?
In 2017, Ed was sued for $20 million. Why so much? Songwriting duo Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard alleged that their song “Photograph” was copied much too closely from their own track titled “Amazing.” I will also say that this did not become, in fact, quite a long court case. Aside from being settled out of court, and such out-of-court settlements generally imply exchange of money, their names were then also added to the songwriting credits by Ed. So far, so good? Well, not quite.
Prior to that, the matter went up again. It was especially concerning a song Ed wrote for Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, “The Rest of Our Life.” Down under, two songwriters alleged that it was a blatant copy of their song “When I Found You.” What happened next, can you guess? Another settlement out of court in silence. Nobody came forth with the facts, but one thing was clear: Ed started to become an attractive target for these claims.
In an opposite situation, even “Shape of You” got some trouble: a guy named Sami Chokri alleged that Ed copied from his song “Oh Why.” This time, Ed, instead of simply backing down, actually went on to defend in court and won. But let me tell you, he was pretty frustrated, saying the case probably shouldn’t have reached the courts in the first place. Can you blame him?
What’s the Big Deal with “Thinking Out Loud”?
In 2017, the family of song co-writer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the Marvin Gaye classic, “Let’s Get It On,” sued Ed Sheeran. The somewhat convoluted accusation was that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had stolen the feel of their song. Well, if you have heard both songs, you might have said, “Yeah! They do sound somewhat alike.” But sounding alike is one thing, and copying is another, don’t you think?
An eternity passed before it finally glided into the courtroom in Manhattan in the year 2023. Oh, and did I forget to tell you, it was a wild one. Ed made off with a guitar and proceeded to play in front of the jury! I’m telling you, all straight-out-of-a-movie vibes.
The jury didn’t find these claims. After a few hours of deliberations, they came back and said Ed didn’t infringe upon copyrights.
So, What Was the Argument All About?
The suing parties claimed that Ed stole the chord progression, rhythm, and overall feeling from “Let’s Get It On” for “Thinking Out Loud”; in other words, the same musical building blocks were allegedly incorporated by him.
Ed’s team chose the simplest case they could. The lawyer stated that Ed, with his co-writer Amy Wadge, wrote “Thinking Out Loud” all by themselves-two friends chatting about love and growing old, and just like that, the song was born, and the four-chord pattern is just very suitable for pop songs, since it can be found in tons of other tunes. Ed himself said, “There are only so many notes and chords in pop music-things are going to sound similar sometimes.”