Ed Sheeran has appeared in a New York City court to deny that his song Thinking Out Loud copied Marvin Gaye's song Let's Get It On.
Heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend are suing Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group and music publisher Sony Music Publishing for allegedly ripping off Gaye's classic, which Townsend co-wrote.
They allege that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied an ascending four-chord sequence, and its rhythm.
The trial is the first of three Sheeran could face from lawsuits over similarities between the two hits.
Appearing in person on Tuesday, Sheeran testified that Thinking Out Loud was composed by himself and Wadge in a collaborative writing session, inspired by the love held between his grandparents.
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the plaintiffs argued that a video of Sheeran performing a live mashup of Thinking Out Loud with Let’s Get It On was "a confession" of plagiarism.
Sheeran later countered: "Most pop songs can fit over most pop songs … You could go from Let it Be to No Woman, No Cry and switch back," referring to songs by the Beatles and Bob Marley.
He added: "If I had done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be a quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that."
When he was interrupted by lawyer Keisha Rice, he said: "I feel like you don’t want me to answer because you know that what I’m going to say is actually going to make quite a lot of sense."
The lawsuit said Sheeran has performed the two songs live as a medley and transitioned "seamlessly" between them.
Sheeran has argued that any similarities between the songs involve basic musical "building blocks" that are ineligible for copyright protection.
If the jury finds Sheeran is liable for copyright infringement, the Manhattan court will hold another trial to determine how much he and his labels should pay. The first trial is expected to last about a week.
The heirs said in a court filing that they received 22% of the writer's share of Gaye's song from Townsend.
Sheeran is facing two related lawsuits from investment banker and "Bowie Bonds" creator David Pullman's Structured Asset Sales LLC, which owns a third of Townsend's rights in the song.
Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his hit Shape of You.
Gaye's heirs won a landmark verdict in 2015 over claims that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song Blurred Lines copied Gaye's Got to Give It Up.
Source: Reuters
