Jury finds Ed Sheeran did not infringe in copyright case

Musician Ed Sheeran delved into the emotional toll of the trial, explaining that because he had to be in New York, it meant missing being with his family for his grandmother’s funeral in Ireland.

“I will never get that time back,” he said.

“I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy," he said. "I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake."

He said like other artists he works hard to create songs “based around real-life personal experience.”

“It is devastating to be accused of stealing someone else’s song when we put so much work into our livelihoods.”

Musician Ed Sheeran and Kathryn Townsend Griffin, a plaintiff in his copyright infringement case, embraced and spoke at length after learning of the jury's verdict.

The jury found Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" did not wrongfully copy the Marvin Gaye classic "Let's Get It On," which was co-written by Ed Townsend — Griffin's father.

Griffin said she respects the jury's decision.

"I stood up for my father's intellectual property," she said. "This was never about money — it was only principles." 

Singer Ed Sheeran said he is happy with the outcome of the case, but said he is "unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all."

The artist said it is important for musicians to be able to have creative freedom without the fear of being accused of stealing other songs.

He said in this case his team proved that the chords in question from Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get It On" were used in songs before it was written “and will be used to make music long after we are all gone."

The plaintiffs had alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm, and certain melodies in "Let's Get It On" and Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud."

Sheeran said these were "misleading comparisons" and said he was glad the jury saw through the "bogus claim."

Basic similarities or a copy-cat act? When it came to Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" and the classic Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On," a jury was asked to weigh two conflicting narratives.

The plaintiffs alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm and certain melodies in the two songs.

Sheeran’s legal team argued that the melodies are different and the elements used in both songs are common in pop music.

Ultimately, the jury concluded Sheeran had independently created "Thinking Out Loud" and did not infringe on the copyright of Gaye's song.

Listen to back-to-back snippets from the two songs in the video below:

CNN's Lauren del Valle contributed to this report.

A Manhattan jury found Ed Sheeran's hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not infringe on the copyright of the classic Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On."  

The jury determined that Sheeran had independently created his song and did not wrongfully copy compositional elements or melodies from Gaye's song.

Upon hearing the verdict, Sheeran hugged his attorneys.

The plaintiffs had alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm and certain melodies in the two songs. Sheeran’s legal team had argued that the melodies are different and the elements used in both songs are common in pop music.

CNN's Sabrina Souza contributed to this report.

The jury has reached a verdict in the copyright infringement trial about whether Ed Sheeran's smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On.” 

The jury received the case late Wednesday afternoon and deliberated for approximately three hours. 

If the jury decides Sheeran is liable for copyright infringement, the trial will move onto the second phase to determine damages. 

The family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote "Let's Get It On" with Gaye has accused Sheeran of copying the 1973 hit. 

The plaintiffs had alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm, and certain melodies in the two songs. Sheeran’s legal team had argued that the melodies are different and the elements used in both songs are common in pop music. 

The copyright lawsuit against Ed Sheeran over his song “Thinking Out Loud” is not unprecedented. Similar lawsuits have become increasingly common in the music industry over the past few years, though the outcomes have been mixed.

Marvin Gaye’s family has previously sued other artists for copyright infringement—and won. The estate successfully sued singer Robin Thicke and producer Pharrell Williams for $7.4 million in 2015 for borrowing from Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” for their hit “Blurred Lines,” 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’s family 50% percent of the royalties from “Blurred Lines” moving forward. 

But other, recent copyright cases have had different outcomes.

Taylor Swift faced a similar case in 2017 over her smash hit “Shake It Off,” which was settled and dismissed last year. Led Zeppelin was sued in 2014 over its iconic tune “Stairway to Heaven” by the estate of late Randy California, former lead guitarist of the 1960s band Spirit, for lifting part of their single “Taurus.” A 2020 appeals court ruled in Led Zeppelin’s favor. 

Sheeran, meanwhile, has faced previous legal battles over his music and won.

In a 2022 case over his song “Shape of You,” a judge ruled in Sheeran’s favor that he did not copy grime artist Sami Switch’s song “Oh Why” after the musician accused Sheeran of plagiarizing a key part. He was also sued in 2016 over his single “Photograph,” which was settled out of court.

The trial concerns Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud,” which won the 2016 Grammy award for song of the year.

The family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Gaye, has accused Ed Sheeran of copying the 1973 hit.

The plaintiffs have alleged similarities between the chord progression, harmonic rhythm, and certain melodies in the two songs. Sheeran’s legal team has argued that the melodies are different and the elements used in both songs are common in pop music.

The lawsuit alleges there are “melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions” in the two songs that are “substantially and/or strikingly similar.

The jury in the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement case — about whether Sheeran’s smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied the classic Marvin Gaye song “Let’s Get It On” — deliberated for about five minutes Wednesday evening before the judge sent jury members home.

Jurors sent a note to Judge Louis Stanton requesting that it break deliberations for the night and the judge granted that request around 5:10 p.m.

The jury continued deliberations Thursday morning at 10 a.m. 

Earlier Wednesday, an attorney representing the family suing Sheeran asked the jury Wednesday not to be “blinded by the defendant’s celebrity.”

“Mr. Sheeran is counting on you to be very, very overwhelmed by his commercial success,” attorney Keisha Rice said in her closing argument Wednesday.