Ed Sheeran has won his second copyright lawsuit over his song Thinking Out Loud this month.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed a second case against the British singer over similarities between his 2014 ballad and Marvin Gaye’s 1973 song Let’s Get It On.
The second case was brought by Structured Asset Sales LLC (SAS), a company owned by investment banker David Pullman, who owns part of co-writer Ed Townsend’s copyright of Let’s Get It On. SAS officials had claimed that “the combination of the chord progression and the harmonic rhythm used in Thinking Out Loud is substantially similar to that in Let’s Get It On, and thus infringes the work”.
However, Judge Stanton disagreed on Tuesday and ruled that those elements of the song were too common to merit copyright protection.
Sheeran’s attorney Ilene Farkas called the decision “an important victory not only for Ed” and his co-writer Amy Wadge, “but for all songwriters and consumers of music”, reports Reuters.
The 32-year-old emerged victorious in a separate lawsuit over the same songs earlier this month. That case was brought against him by Townsend’s heirs and went to trial in Manhattan, with Judge Stanton presiding over proceedings.
Earlier this month, the jury ruled in Sheeran’s favour and found that the chord progression was not unique enough to warrant a copyright claim.
SAS’s legal action, which was dismissed on Tuesday, specifically relates to the sheet music of the two songs. SAS has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran over the recording.
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