CELEBRITIES
Ed Sheeran testifies in court for copyright trial against Marvin Gaye’s co-writers
The British-born singer appears in court Monday for the first day of hearings in his lawsuit from Marvin Gaye’s estate.
Ed Sheeran will testify in court Monday, as the heirs of Marvin Gaye’s co-writers are suing the ‘Shape of You’ singer for copyright issues.
Sheeran is being sued in a copyright trial that starts Monday that will address his 2014 Grammy-winning song, ‘Thinking Out Loud’, written by Sheeran and English singer-songwriter Amy Wadge, which allegedly was taken from parts of Marvin Gaye’s number one Billboard Pop Singles song, 1973′s ‘Let’s Get It On’.
The singer’s labels, Atlantic Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, are also listed as defendants in the case.
What we know about Sheeran’s lawsuit
The lawsuit was filed in 2017 by heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, citing “striking similarities” between the songs, and described “overt common elements”.
The trial is expected to last approximately one week and takes place in the Manhattan Federal Court. The judge is Louis L. Stanton, who is 95 years old.
The jurors will examine the elements of Gaye’s song, including melody, harmony, and rhythm, to determine if Sheeran’s song was indeed ripped from ‘Let’s Get It On’. Jurors will use the resources filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
What does Ed Sheeran say about the copyright suit?
Ed Sheeran’s attorneys said prior to the trial that the songs’ likeness is arbitrary.
“The two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters,” Sheeran’s lawyers wrote in the court filing.
Meanwhile, the Townsend family’s attorneys reference other artists — such as Boyz II Men — who used ‘Let’s Get It On’, in a live performance, including Sheeran himself, who has merged from one song to the other in previous performances on stage. To support their claims, they introduced a YouTube video to the evidence that they hope will be played in the courtroom during the trial.
The judge, however, denied the motion for now, but will consider including it after he has seen other evidence.
The Gaye family in court
While the copyright lawsuit is based on Gaye’s famous song, the legendary artist’s family is not involved in the case.
The Gaye family was granted a successful suit in a similar case against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I. for using Gaye’s 1977 song ‘Got to Give it Up’ on their 2013 track, ‘Blurred Lines’.
The Gaye estate was awarded $7.4 million at trial and $5.3 million finally determined by the judge.