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A copyright infringement case against British pop artist Ed Sheeran is set to kick off this week, with the potential to further complicate the legal landscape for songwriters.<\/p>\n
The jury was selected Monday in the case against Sheeran, who is accused of copying the 1973 soul hit \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On\u201d by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Marvin Gaye.<\/p>\n
Jurors will return to Manhattan federal court Tuesday morning when opening statements in the trial are expected to begin. Sheeran is also expected to testify in the trial.<\/p>\n
The trial concerns Sheeran\u2019s song \u201cThinking Out Loud,\u201d which won the 2016 Grammy award for song of the year. \u201cThe Defendants copied the \u2018heart\u2019 of \u2018Let\u2019s\u2019 and repeated it continuously throughout \u2018Thinking,\u2019\u201d the lawsuit claims. It alleges there are \u201cmelodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions\u201d in the two songs that are \u201csubstantially and\/or strikingly similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Townsend\u2019s daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin, sister Helen McDonald and the estate of his former wife, Cherrigale Townsend, are the listed plaintiffs on the \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d case. Gaye died in 1984 and Townsend died in 2003.<\/p>\n
In legal filings, Sheeran\u2019s lawyers have argued that \u201cthe alleged similarities between the two songs are actually not similar and that any remaining similarities consist of unprotectable musical elements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawsuits such as the one filed\u00a0by Gaye\u2019s family have become increasingly common in the music industry over the past few years.<\/p>\n
Gaye\u2019s family has previously sued other artists for copyright infringement\u2014and won. The estate\u00a0successfully sued\u00a0singer Robin Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams for $7.4 million in 2015 for borrowing from Gaye\u2019s \u201cGot to Give It Up\u201d for their hit \u201cBlurred Lines,\u201d though the case turned into a five-year legal battle that ultimately saw the judgment reduced to $5.3 million. The ruling also awarded Gaye\u2019s family 50% percent of the royalties from \u201cBlurred Lines\u201d moving forward.<\/p>\n
But other, recent copyright cases have had different outcomes.<\/p>\n
Taylor Swift faced a similar case in 2017 over her smash hit \u201cShake It Off,\u201d which was settled and dismissed last year. Led Zeppelin was sued in 2014 over its iconic tune \u201cStairway to Heaven\u201d by the estate of late Randy California, former lead guitarist of the 1960s band Spirit, for lifting part of their single \u201cTaurus.\u201d A 2020 appeals court ruled in Led Zeppelin\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n
Sheeran, meanwhile, has faced\u00a0previous legal battles\u00a0over his music and won. In a 2022 case over his song \u201cShape of You,\u201d a judge ruled in Sheeran\u2019s favour that he did not copy grime artist Sami Switch\u2019s song \u201cOh Why\u201d after the musician accused Sheeran of plagiarizing a key part. He was also sued in 2016 over his single \u201cPhotograph,\u201d which was settled out of court.<\/p>\n
After his successful 2022 legal battle, Sheeran posted a video to his Instagram voicing his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really damaging to the songwriting industry. There\u2019s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify. That\u2019s 22 million songs a year, and there\u2019s only 12 notes that are available,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cI\u2019m not an entity. I\u2019m not a corporation. I\u2019m a human being. I\u2019m a father. I\u2019m a husband. I\u2019m a son. Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Credit: CNN.com<\/p>\n
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