Did Ed Sheeran have Marvin Gaye on his mind when he wrote Thinking Out Loud? Photo: Getty
Camera IconDid Ed Sheeran have Marvin Gaye on his mind when he wrote Thinking Out Loud? Photo: Getty Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Ed Sheeran ordered to face plagiarism lawsuit over Marvin Gaye song

AAPMidland Kalamunda Reporter

A US judge has rejected English singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran’s request to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of lifting from Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic Let’s Get It On for his 2014 smash Thinking Out Loud.

In a decision made public on Thursday, US District Judge Louis Stanton in Manhattan said a jury should decide whether Sheeran, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Atlantic Records should be liable to the estate and heirs of the late producer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Let’s Get It On with Gaye.

Stanton found “substantial similarities between several of the two works’ musical elements,” including their bass lines and percussion, and said it was in dispute whether the harmonic rhythm of Let’s Get It On was too common to deserve copyright protection.

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He also said ordinary listeners might view the songs’ “aesthetic appeal” as the same, despite defence arguments that Thinking Out Loud was characterised by “sombre, melancholic tones, addressing long lasting romantic love” while Let’s Get It On was a “sexual anthem” radiating positive emotions.

Jurors “may be impressed by footage of a Sheeran performance which shows him seamlessly transitioning between [the songs],” Stanton wrote.

Sheeran has denied copying from Gaye.

Representatives for Sheeran and Atlantic did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sony/ATV spokesman Paul Williams declined to comment.

Pat Frank, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said his clients were looking forward to their day in court “when this matter is tried.”

Gaye was fatally shot by his father in 1984 at age 44.

Stanton oversees two lawsuits accusing Sheeran of lifting from Gaye’s song.

In the other case, Structured Asset Sales LLC, which owns one-third of Townsend’s estate, sued last June for $US100 million ($A143 million) of damages.

Sheeran, 27, has also faced infringement claims over his songs Photograph and Shape of You.