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Ed Sheeran has been cleared once again of copyright infringement claims regarding his mega-hit single “Thinking Out Loud.” On Friday, a U.S. appeals court ruled in Sheeran’s favor, upholding a previous decision to dismiss a $100 million lawsuit brought by Structured Asset Sales (SAS) that accused Sheeran of copying Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On.”
This marks the second time Sheeran has prevailed in back-to-back legal battles over similar copyright allegations regarding “Thinking Out Loud” and “Let’s Get It On.” Last year, a jury sided with Sheeran after a trial involving similar infringement claims from the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On.” Judge Louis Stanton then dismissed the SAS case before it went to trial, citing the earlier jury verdict.
In its ruling, the appeals court agreed with Judge Stanton that protecting the basic musical elements at the core of the lawsuit—the songs’ chord progression and harmonic rhythm—could stifle creativity in music. The court also noted the two songs were not similar enough to constitute an infringement on SAS’ copyright.
