Ed Sheeran Persuades Court to Uphold 'Thinking Out Loud' Decision in Copyright Appeal Case: Report

Mar. 15, 2025

Ed Sheeran in March 2022.Photo:David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty

Ed Sheeran in April 2023.Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty

In the case, it was argued that Sheeran, 33, allegedly copied a chord progression and rhythm from Gaye’s song, but the appeals court said the lawsuit was essentially grappling with “a monopoly over a combination of two fundamental musical building blocks.”

“The four-chord progression at issue—ubiquitous in pop music—even coupled with a syncopated harmonic rhythm, is too well-explored to meet the originality threshold that copyright law demands,” several appeals court judges wrote, perBillboard. “Overprotecting such basic elements would threaten to stifle creativity and undermine the purpose of copyright law.”

PerBillboard, the appeals court also ruled that Sheeran and Gaye’s songs were not identical enough to elicit copyright infringement: “Neither the melody nor the lyrics of ‘Thinking Out Loud' bears any resemblance to those in ‘Let’s Get It On.’ Undeniable and obvious differences exist between them.”

That caseended in May 2023, and Sheeran was not found liable.

“I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed,” the “Shape of You” hitmaker exclusivelytold PEOPLEfollowing the decision at the time. “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.”

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Although the ruling made for the lawsuit on Friday, Nov. 1 is over, Sheeran is facing another lawsuit from SAS that seeks to find copyright infringement when it comes to the sound recording of “Let’s Get It On” instead of the written music. However, that case was put on hold as the earlier lawsuit was being decided.

In a statement toBillboard, SAS owner Pullman was critical of the court for analyzing “two songs out of over 60 million registered songs” in order to make its decision.

“This ruling is consistent with the jury’s rejection of any claim of infringement in the [earlier] case, finding that Ed and Amy independently created ‘Thinking Out Loud,'” he said.

source: people.com