Ed Sheeran was found not liable Thursday in Manhattan federal court on a copyright claim alleging that he copied key elements from the Marvin Gaye ’70s hit “Let’s Get It On” for his own “Thinking Out Loud.”
The verdict that cleared him of copyright infringement came after just a few hours of deliberation Thursday, wrapping up a trial that lasted just under two weeks.
Standing outside the courtroom, Sheeran read a statement for reporters that made it clear how frustrated he felt at being accused of plagiarism and having the case reach trial.
“I am obviously very happy with the outcome of the case, and it looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all,” Sheeran said, referring to a possibly hyperbolic statement he’d made on the stand earlier this week that he would feel compelled to quit music if the verdict went against him. “But at the same time, I am absolutely frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all… If the jury had decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters.”
He added, “I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake.”
Saying that he had been forced to miss his grandmother’s funeral due to the case, Sheeran told reporters, “Having to be in New York for this trial has meant that I have missed being with my family at my grandmother’s funeral in Ireland. I won’t get that time back.” The funeral was held Wednesday.
In closing, Sheeran told the assembled reporters, “We need songwriters and the wider musical community to come together to bring back common sense. These claims must be stopped so that the creative process can carry on, and we can all go back to making music. At the same time we absolutely need trusted individuals, real experts, who help support the process and protect copyright.” (Scroll down to see Sheeran’s full statement.)
The Associated Press reported from inside the courtroom that after the verdict was read, Sheeran mouthed the words “thank you” to the jury and then spent about 10 minutes talking with the plaintiffs, including Kathryn Townsend Griffin, the daughter of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Townsend, as they “hugged and smiled with each other.” CNN further reported that, according to witnesses, Sheeran had invited Townsend Griffin to an upcoming concert.
“These trials take a significant toll on everybody involved, including Kathryn Townsend Griffin,” Sheeran said in his statement.
The jury had officially begun deliberations after closing arguments Wednesday evening, although, since it was after 5 p.m., the judge held them just long enough for a get-acquainted session before sending them home for the night.
U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton had sent the Manhattan jury into deliberations with a pointed admonition: “Independent creation is a complete defense, no matter how similar that song is.”
Stanton’s instructions left a high bar in the jury’s minds for just how much evidence the plaintiffs’ attorneys needed to have established to prove that Sheeran and his co-writer actually copied Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” when they wrote the 2014 pop hit “Thinking Out Loud.” The case was filed by heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer on the 1973 song.
Stanton told jurors that the lawyers for the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, needed to “prove by a preponderance of the evidence… that Sheeran actually copied and wrongfully copied ‘Let’s Get It On’” — as opposed to the coincidental, negligible similarities argued by Sheeran’s attorneys.
In closing arguments, Sheeran attorney Ilene Farkas referred back to the other side’s contention that the singer’s concert mashup of the two songs constituted “a smoking gun” and “a confession.” Said Farkas, “He did a mashup one night. That’s a plaintiff’s confession, their smoking gun?… Simply put: the plaintiff’s ‘smoking gun’ was shooting blanks.”
Sheeran and his co-writer on “Thinking Out Loud,” Amy Wadge (who was not named as a defendant in the suit), both testified during the trial that they had written the song quickly in a spontaneous afternoon session without any discussion of “Let’s Get It On,” prompted by thinking about older relatives and the topic of having love last into old age. Similarities in lyrics or melody were not alleged by the plaintiffs.