Ed Sheeran, a British singer, has been charged in court with plagiarism of Marvin Gaye’s song. A federal judge ordered the singer to stand trial in response to allegations that he plagiarised Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit song “Let’s Get It On” on his 2014 track “Thinking Out Loud.” In his court application, Ed Sheeran contended that the copyright claims were “baseless” and “far too frequent.” The plaintiffs, however, claim that Ed Sheeran and his writing partner, Amy Wadge, plagiarised and exploited the Marvin Gaye song without permission or credit, “including but not limited to the melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation, and looping,” and they are seeking $100 million (£90 million) in damages. The trial date, on the other hand, is yet to be set. This is not the singer’s first legal battle. A lawsuit was recently filed against him and his songwriting partners, John McDaid and Steven McCutcheon, alleging that the chorus of their song “Shape of You” was lifted word for word from Ross O’Donoghue and Sami Chokri’s 2015 single, “Oh Why.” During the March 2022 trial, the High Court Judge ruled that the imitation was not done “purposefully or unconsciously.” Ed and his co-defendants were awarded costs of £900,000 afterwards. Upon the court’s decision, Ed communicated his hope on his Instagram page that it would put an end to further frivolous claims.
