The Ed Sheeran Copyright Trial in the United States Will Last for One Week

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manhattan federal court for the trial of British pop sensation Ed Sheeran over charges that he should pay royalties on his smash “Thinking Out Loud” for allegedly ripping off Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”

Sheeran, his record label Warner Music Group, and music producer Sony Music Publishing were sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Marvin Gaye’s classic “I Will Always Love You.” They said that Sheeran had copied Gaye’s song.

This is the first of potentially three trials involving claims that Sheeran’s work is too similar to another hit.

Warner Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, and the lawyers for both sides did not answer questions about the case immediately.

“Let’s Get It On,” written by Marvin Gaye and Townsend, topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. On the Billboard Hot 100, Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” peaked at position two in 2015.

In 2017, Townsend’s family sued Sheeran for copyright infringement, saying that “Thinking Out Loud” stole the “heart” of Gaye’s song, including its melody, harmony, and rhythm.

The claim said that Sheeran played the two songs together live as a medley and “seamlessly” changed from one to the other.

Sheeran has said that any similarities between the songs come from “building blocks” of music that copyright laws can’t protect.

If the jury decides that Sheeran is guilty of copyright infringement, a second hearing will be held in Manhattan to decide how much he and his labels should pay. The first trial should go on for about a week.

In a court statement, the heirs said that Townsend gave them 22% of the writer’s share of Gaye’s song. Sheeran is being sued twice by David Pullman’s Structured Asset Sales LLC, which owns a third of Townsend’s rights to the song. Pullman created “Bowie Bonds” and is a financial banker.

Sheeran won a copyright case in London last year about his hit song “Shape of You.” Gaye’s family won a big case in 2015 when they said that “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.”