On the 30th of March 2021, US District Judge Ronnie Abrams rejected Ed Sheeran’s request to dismiss the third lawsuit against the singer and his ‘Thinking Out Loud’, being accused of infringing Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit ‘Let’s Get It On’. The case started in 2016 when Ed Townsend, co-author of Gaye’s piece, sued the English singer-songwriter in America, stating that Sheeran stole the melody, harmony and rhythm composition.
Since the US has very specific rules in terms of copyright and new music registration, Townsend had to start a new legal battle, involving a newly registered version of ‘Let’s Get It On’ and its music sheets. Judge Abrams commented the accusation: ‘it allows the court to reasonably infer that plaintiff has ownership of the 2020 copyright’, confirming the song as being eligible for a copyright lawsuit. The Judge added: ‘The court concludes that the 2020 registration sufficiently alleges plaintiff’s beneficial ownership in that copyright for purposes of this motion, and that the registration’s incorporation of new musical elements precludes a finding that plaintiff’s two suits are duplicative.’
Hence, Abrams found potential to review the alleged overlap with the 1973 Marvin Gaye composition – as well as acknowledging the similarities between the previous lawsuits and this litigation – and ruled out to put the case on hold. On the other side, Sheeran’s lawyers and Sony representatives still haven’t commented on these events, with the prosecution asking for up to $100 million in damages.
Released in 2014, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ culminated at number 2 on Billboard Hot 100 in February 2015, winning a Grammy award for the Song of the Year and being nominated for Record of the Year and Best Solo Pop Performance. On the other hand, in 1973 Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’ peaked at number two for US’s Billboard Top LPs, and number 1 for Billboard Soul LPs.
