British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has been found not guilty of plagiarising Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit song ‘Let’s Get It On’. The lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote ‘Let’s Get It On’ with Gaye.
The plaintiffs alleged that Sheeran’s 2014 hit single ‘Thinking Out Loud’ had copied the melody, harmony, and rhythm of ‘Let’s Get It On’, and sought $100 million in damages. Sheeran denied the allegations and argued that any similarities between the two songs were based on common musical elements found in many compositions.
After a lengthy legal battle, a federal judge in New York has now ruled in favor of Sheeran, stating that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Sheeran had copied ‘Let’s Get It On’ in a legally actionable way. The judge also noted that the harmonic progression used in ‘Let’s Get It On’ was not unique to that song and had been used in many other compositions.
