Musician Ed Sheeran will go to trial over a copyright infringement lawsuit.
Driving the news: The four-time Grammy award-winning artist will face trial to determine whether his 2014 hit, “Thinking Out Loud,” ripped off elements from Marvin Gaye’s “Lets Get It On.” The lawsuit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, an entity that owns a third of the stake in the estate of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer.
- Sheeran has dodged trial since 2018, when the lawsuit was first filed. Sheeran’s lawyers called the claims “baseless,” reports BBC.
- The Gaye family is not involved in the lawsuit over Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song.
- Structured Asset Sales is seeking $100 million in damages, according to Variety.
- Judge Louis Stanton affirmed that the case must be settled in court. “There is no bright-line rule,” Stanton said, per Billboard. “A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements.”
What they’re saying: Some Twitter users shared their thoughts about the lawsuit.
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Details: This will not be the pop star’s first copyright infringement lawsuit.
- In April, Sheeran won a copyright case over his 2017 track, “Shape of You.” Sheeran was awarded $1.1 million in damages.
- Sheeran shared his thoughts about the case on Instagram. “Whilst we’re obviously happy with the result, I feel like claims like this are way too common now,” he said. “It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.”