Ed Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On when composing Thinking Out Loud, a US court has ruled.
The British singer-songwriter had denied stealing elements of the song for his 2014 worldwide hit.
Heirs of Gaye’s co-writer argued that Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing owed them money for copyright infringement.
Sheeran had said he would give up his music career if found guilty at the the trial in New York.
“If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he said when asked about the toll the trial at Manhattan federal court was taking on him.
Sheeran reportedly stood up and hugged his team after jurors ruled that he “independently” created his song.
“It looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all,” he told reporters.
“But at the same time I am absolutely frustrated that baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all.”
“If the jury had decided this matter the other way we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters,” he said.
Artists need to be able to create original music “without worrying at every step on the way that said creativity will be wrongly called into question”, he added. (BBC)
