[News] Ed Sheeran wins copyright lawsuit over his hit Thinking Out Loud

[#Wittels-]

Upon leaving the court, the musician was frustrated by the fact that the complaints, which he classified as unfounded, reached a trial.

Ed Sheeran didn't copy his world hit Thinking Out Loud.

This conclusion was reached by a US court at the end of a lawsuit over a copyright lawsuit brought by the estate of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of the Marvin Gaye song Get it On.

Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing, producers of the British idol, were also included in the legal action, filed in New York.

The interpreter of hits like Shape of You and Eyes Closed always denied the accusations and evidently that if he was found guilty, he would leave his musical career.

"If that happens, I'm done, I stop," when asked about the cost of the trial in Manhattan federal court.

In response to the court's decision, news reports noted that Sheeran stood up and hugged his team after the jury found that he "independently" created his song.

Ed Sheeran maintained that he composed the song at his home in London with his friend Amy Wudge.

The singer expresses himself
Once out of court, Sheeran said he was "obviously very happy" with the ruling.

"It looks like I won't have to retire from my day job after all," he told reporters.

He also expressed himself as "absolutely frustrated" with the fact that the allegations, which he classified as "unsubstantiated", had reached a trial.

"If the jury had decided this matter differently, we would also have to say goodbye to the creative freedom of composers," he added.

Artists must be able to create original music "without worrying every step of the way that such creativity will be wrongly challenged," they said.

Sheeran also told outside the court that because the trial was held in the United States, he missed his grandmother's funeral.

"I missed being with my family during my grandmother's funeral," he blurted out. "It's a time I'll never get back."

What happened at the trial
During the civil trial, Sheeran sang and played parts of Thinking Out Loud on guitar.

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of songwriter Ed Townsend, accused Sheeran of copyright infringement.

She said that she wrote the song at her home in England with her friend Amy Wudge and that she had been inspired by her grandparents and a new romantic relationship that had just begun.

Sheeran's lawyer, Ilene Farkas, told the jury that the similarities in the chord progressions and rhythms of the two songs were "the letters of the alphabet of music."

"These are basic musical building blocks that composers now and forever must be free to use, or all of us who love music will be poorer for it," he said.

Keisha Rice, who represented the Townsend estate, alleged that her clients were not claiming ownership of basic musical elements, but were referring to "the way these common elements are uniquely combined."

Last year, Sheeran won a copyright battle in London's High Court for his 2017 Shape of You.

But he also faces claims about Thinking Out Loud from a company owned by investment banker David Pullman that has copyright interests in Gaye's song.

 

Link: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-65489133