Ed Sheeran has been involved in his fair share of controversy over the composition of his 2014 track ‘Thinking Out Loud’.
In 2016, the estate of Ed Townsend took legal action against Sheeran, claiming that portions of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ were “substantially and/or strikingly similar” to Marvin Gaye’s ‘Lets Get It On’, which Townsend had written years before.
Although this case was later dismissed, a judge ruled in January this year that the case does need to go to court, stating that “although the two compositions are not identical, an average lay observer could conclude that parts of TOL were appropriated from LGO.”
Before the case goes ahead however, the court will await on a decision made regarding a similar lawsuit against Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’.
Legal action against Led Zeppelin first began in 2014, which alleges that the 1971 rock classic plagiarizes the 1968 track ‘Taurus’ by Los Angeles group Spirit. The long-running legal battle will finally be put in front of a panel of judges in September.
Given the prolonged nature of the ‘Stairway To Heaven’ copyright case, if it does end up going to the US Supreme Court, the Ed Sheeran case might not be resolved until 2020.
Aside from the copyright claims by Ed Townsend, Sheeran is facing another infringement accusation in regards to ‘Thinking Out Loud’, with Structured Asset Sales – one-third owners of the copyright to ‘Let’s Get It On’ – launching a $100 million copyright case against the song back in 2018.
Check out ‘Thinking Out Loud’ below:
Now, check out ‘Let’s Get It On’:
Coincidence? Guess we’ll have to wait and see…