Singer Ed Sheeran will stand trial for alleged copyright violation of the classic Marvin Gaye single, “Let’s Get It On,” a federal judge has ruled.
The 31-year-old singer is accused of making his Grammy Award-winning single, “Thinking Out Loud,” too similar to Gaye’s iconic hit from 1973.
Sheeran’s attorneys argued against the lawsuit, claiming it was invalid because the song’s elements were not unique enough to be covered by a copyright, Billboard reported. But the judge did not agree.
“There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work,” Judge Louis Stanton said when making that determination. “A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements.”
Therefore, Sheeran and his legal team will need to argue their case before a jury. Structured Asset Sales (SAS) owns a partial stake in Gaye’s song and is seeking $100 million in damages for the alleged copyright infringement.
This isn’t the first time the British singer-songwriter faced legal battles over his music. The publication noted that Sheeran recently won a similar lawsuit in the U.K. after artist Sami Chokri claimed the singer stole the 2017 hit “Shape of You” from his previous work.
Sheeran later told fans “lawsuits are not a pleasant experience” and that he was hoping to steer clear of “baseless claims” going forward.
“Thinking Out Loud” received Grammy wins for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards and was also nominated for Record of the Year, though Sheeran ultimately lost to Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars for “Uptown Funk.”
No date has been set for the trial.
Sheeran previously told The Mirror that he wrote “Thinking Out Loud” in collaboration with his friend and fellow singer, Amy Wadge. The musician explained how his album “x” was almost done and the single was a last-minute addition.
“[Wadge] was going through financial troubles about a year ago,” Sheeran told the publication. “She drove to my house – my album was nearly done – and she asked if I could put a song from when I was 17 on the deluxe album, so she could get a little bit of money and pay the mortgage and bills and stuff.”
“While she was there, we wrote ‘Thinking Out Loud’,” he continued. “Now she never has to worry about money again.”
A Spin reviewer noted in 2015 how much the song resembled “Let’s Get It On.”
