The British singer spent days testifying in court with his guitar, playing demos to argue that his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not unlawfully copy the intellectual property of Motown legend Marvin Gaye.
A federal jury in New York concluded on Thursday that Ed Sheeran's 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not unlawfully copy from Marvin Gaye's classic 1973 song "Let's Get It On."
The civil lawsuit was filed by the heirs of Gaye co-writer Ed Townsend, who alleged that harmonic progressions and rhythmic elements of Sheeran's song were lifted without permission. They sought a share of the profits from Sheeran's hit
"It is devastating and also insulting to be accused of stealing other people's songs when we put so much into our livelihoods," Sheeran told reporters outside the court in Manhattan.
"I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake."
Lawyers for Gaye's estate argued that "Thinking Out Loud" had so many similarities to "Let's Get It On" that it violated the song's copyright protection.
They pointed to a video of a concert in Switzerland where Sheeran can be heard singing both songs on stage, and said this footage was "smoking gun" proof that he stole the tune.
Sheeran, who co-wrote "Thinking Out Loud" with singer-songwriter Amy Wadge, spent days testifying in court with his guitar with him.
He played demos for the court to argue that the 1-3-4-5 chord progression in question was a basic building block of pop music that cannot be owned, "in the same way nobody owns the color blue."
In 2015, Gaye's family — who were not involved in the "Thinking Out Loud" case — successfully sued artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams over similarities between the song "Blurred Lines" and Gaye's "Got to Give it Up."
Last year, Sheeran won a copyright battle in the United Kingdom over his 2017 song "Shape of You."
"If the jury had decided this matter the other way, we might as well say goodbye to the creative freedom of songwriters," Sheeran said after his victory on Thursday.
Kathryn Townsend Griffen, the daughter of the "Let's Get It On" co-writer who brought the lawsuit against Sheeran, said the case was not personal.
"I did what I had to do to protect my father's intellectual property," she said after the verdict. "I'm very proud of my father and his work and me doing what I have to do."