British megastar Ed Sheeran will testify in court to defend himself against accusations of plagiarizing Marvin Gaye for his international hit "Thinking Out Loud."
Ed Sheeran, a top charting artist, and internationally successful pop star, has been informed by a federal judge that he will have to defend himself in court against allegations that he plagiarized Marvin Gaye's 1973 hit song "Let's Get It On" for his 2014 song "Thinking Out Loud."
In his motion to the court, Ed Sheeran argued that the copyright claims should be dismissed because they are "baseless" and "far too common."
The plaintiffs allege that Ed Sheeran and his writing partner Amy Wadge copied and exploited the Marvin Gaye song without permission or credit, "including but not limited to the melody, rhythm, harmonies, drums, bass line, background chorus, tempo, syncopation, and looping." They are seeking $100 million (£90 million) in damages.
A lawsuit was recently filed against Ed Sheeran and his songwriting partners John McDaid and Steven McCutcheon, alleging that a chorus from their song "Shape of You" was taken verbatim from Ross O'Donoghue and Sami Chokri's 2015 single "Oh Why."
The High Court judge ruled that the imitation was "neither intentional nor unintentional" during the March 2022 trial. Ed and his co-defendants were ordered to pay £900,000 in costs.
Ed wrote on his Instagram page after the court ruling that he hoped it would put an end to further unsubstantiated claims. Ed Sheeran won't get his wish just yet, though, as he faces another legal battle.