Jury selection and opening statements are set to begin Monday in a trial that mashes up 鈥淭hinking Out Loud鈥� with 鈥淟et鈥檚 Get It On.鈥�
The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye鈥檚 co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star鈥檚 hit 2014 tune has 鈥渟triking similarities鈥� to 鈥淟et鈥檚 Get It On鈥� and 鈥渙vert common elements鈥� that violate their copyright.
The lawsuit filed in 2017 has finally made it to a trial that is expected to last a week in the Manhattan federal courtroom of 95-year-old Judge Louis L. Stanton.
Sheeran, 32, is among the witnesses expected to testify.
is the quintessential, sexy slow jam that鈥檚 been heard in countless films and commercials and garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays over the past 50 years. which won a Grammy for song of the year, is a much more marital take on love and sex.
While the jury will hear the recordings of both songs, probably many times, their lyrics 鈥� and vibes 鈥� are legally insignificant. Jurors are supposed to only consider the raw elements of melody, harmony and rhythm that make up the composition of 鈥淟et鈥檚 Get It On,鈥� as documented on sheet music filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Sheeran鈥檚 attorneys have said the songs鈥� undeniable structural symmetry points only to the foundations of popular music.
鈥淭he two songs share versions of a similar and unprotectable chord progression that was freely available to all songwriters,鈥� they said in a court filing.
Townsend family attorneys pointed out in the lawsuit that artists including Boyz II Men have performed seamless mashups of the two songs, and that even Sheeran himself has segued into 鈥淟et鈥檚 Get It On鈥� during live performances of 鈥淭hinking Out Loud.鈥�
They sought to play a potentially damning YouTube video of one such Sheeran performance for the jury at trial. Stanton denied their motion to include it, but said he would reconsider it after he sees other evidence that鈥檚 presented.
Gaye鈥檚 estate is not involved in the case, though it will inevitably have echoes of their successful lawsuit against , and T.I. over the resemblance of their 2013 hit 鈥淏lurred Lines鈥� to Gaye鈥檚 1977 鈥淕ot to Give it Up.鈥�
at trial 鈥� later 鈥� making it among the most in recent decades.
Sheeran鈥檚 label Atlantic Records and Sony/ATV Music Publishing are also named as defendants in the 鈥淭hinking Out Loud鈥� lawsuit. Generally, plaintiffs in copyright lawsuits cast a wide net in naming defendants, though a judge can eliminate any names deemed inappropriate. In this case, however, Sheeran鈥檚 co-writer on the song, Amy Wadge, was never named.
Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit 鈥淔or Your Love,鈥� was a singer, songwriter and lawyer. He died in 2003. Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, is the plaintiff leading the lawsuit.
Already a Motown superstar in the 1960s before his more adult 1970s output made him a generational musical giant, Gaye was killed in 1984 at age 44, shot by his father as he tried to intervene in a fight between his parents.
alleging song-stealing, but nearly all settle before trial 鈥� as Taylor Swift recently did over 鈥淪hake it Off,鈥� ending a lawsuit that lasted years longer and came closer to trial than most other cases.
But Sheeran 鈥� whose musical style drawing from classic soul, pop and R&B has made him a target for copyright lawsuits 鈥� has shown a willingness to go to trial before. A year ago, he won a U.K. then slammed what he described as a 鈥渃ulture鈥� of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial.
鈥淚 feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim,鈥� Sheeran said in a video posted on Twitter after the verdict. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really damaging to the songwriting industry.鈥�
The 鈥淭hinking Out Loud鈥� lawsuit also invokes one of the most common tropes in American and British music since the earliest days of rock 鈥榥鈥� roll, R&B and hip-hop: a young white artist seemingly appropriating the work of an older Black artist 鈥� accusations that were also levied at Elvis Presley and The Beatles, whose music
鈥淢r. Sheeran blatantly took a Black artist鈥檚 music who he doesn鈥檛 view as worthy as compensation,鈥� who represents the Townsend family but is not involved in the trial, said at a March 31 news conference.
鈥擜ndrew Dalton And Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
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