Ed Sheeran sued over similarities with Marvin Gaye song

British singer, Ed Sheeran, is being accused of copying Marvin Gaye’s song, Let’s Get It On, with his song Thinking Out Loud, as one of the 1973 song writers, Ed Townsend’s heirs filed a copyright lawsuit against him.

Townsend’s daughter has sued Sheeran, his label, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing, for ripping off Gaye’s song, which was co-written by Townsend. Marvin Gaye collaborated with Townsend in writing Let’s Get It On, which topped the Billboard charts in 1973.

Townsend’s heirs sued Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017, claiming Thinking Out Loud copied the heart of Gaye’s song, including its melody, harmony and rhythm.

When Sheeran took the stand on Tuesday, he said he composed his 2014 song independently with British songwriter, Amy Wadge, arguing that any possible similarities between the two songs is because most pop songs use a group of similar chords.

“If I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be an idiot to stand on stage in front of 20,000 people and do that, I have done similar mash-ups with other pop songs. It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for hundreds of years,” said Sheeran when his mash-up of the two songs in a concert came up.

“There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify,” Sheeran added.

Ed Sheeran has previously won a trial in London in 2022 in another copyright lawsuit involving his hit song Shape of You. Marvin Gaye’s heirs have also won a case in 2015, proving that the Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams song, Blurred Lines, has copied Gaye’s song, Got to Give It Up.