Jury finds Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye song

A federal jury decided on Thursday that Ed Sheeran did not infringe the copyright of “Let’s Get It On” with his hit song “Thinking Out Loud.”

The plaintiffs claimed Sheeran stole critical components of the Marvin Gaye song released in 1973.

“Let’s Get It On” and “Thinking Out Loud” have the same chord progression and tempo but distinctively different melodies.

Outside the courthouse, Sheeran said the chord progression he used in “Thinking Out Loud” is part of a standard playbook used by songwriters worldwide.

“Nobody owns them in the way nobody owns the colour blue,” Sheeran said.

“If the jury had decided the claim the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters,” he added.

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“Thinking Out Loud,” released in 2014, won a Grammy for Song of the Year.

The two-week trial took place in New York, causing Sheeran to miss his grandmother’s funeral in Ireland.

The trial concluded with the jury reaching a unanimous verdict after less than three hours of deliberation.

In 2015, Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were forced to pay Marvin Gaye’s estate US$7.4 million for infringing the copyright of “Got to Give It Up” in their song “Blurred Lines.”