Not only are the titles of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” distinct, a jury at Manhattan Federal Court decided that the songs are different too.
In 2016, the heirs of Marvin Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, brought a copyright claim against Ed Sheeran, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing for Sheeran’s hit song “Thinking Out Loud”. The claim stated that Sheeran had taken the rhythm, chord progression and other elements of Gaye’s 1973 classic without permission, and that Townsend’s heirs were therefore entitled to compensation for the infringement. Earlier this month, that claim came to trial.
The scary news: Sheeran said he would quit the music industry altogether if the claim was upheld.
While it is true that the chord progressions between the two songs were identical (D, F#m, G, A for our musicians out there), evidence from a musicologist for Sheeran’s defence pointed out that Gaye was not the first, nor will Sheeran be the last, to use that chord progression. Sheeran’s lawyers further likened elements such as chord progressions, rhythms and time signatures to be ‘the letters of the alphabet of music’, arguing that these fundamental building blocks of music must be free for all musicians to use.
After just 3 hours of deliberation, the jury was unanimous: Sheeran had independently created his hit and did not infringe on Gaye’s copyright.
Unfortunately, Townsend’s heirs were not the only ones claiming copyright infringement against Sheeran for “Thinking Out Loud”. Structured Asset Sales LLC, who own one-third of the copyright to “Let’s Get it On” were bringing their own claim against Sheeran for the same reason. However, their claim didn’t make it as far as the one brought by Townsend’s heirs, as it was dismissed by Federal District Judge Lewis Stanton last week.
In his dismissal, Judge Stanton reasoned that if claims based on musical elements which are too commonplace to have copyright – such as those between Sheeran and Gaye’s hits – were to succeed, “the goal of copyright ‘[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts’ would be thwarted”.
While we wish this was the end of Sheeran’s time in the courtroom and he could get back to sold-out stadium tours, Sheeran’s legal battles are far from over. Following their claim being dismissed, Structured Asset Sales have stated they intend to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
For now, at least, we can rest assured we haven’t heard the last of Ed Sheeran.
