Ed Sheeran found not liable in "Thinking Out Loud" trial

The Ed Sheeran “Thinking Out Loud” trial has come to a conclusion. Sheeran was taken to court by the heirs of Ed Townsend, Marvin Gaye’s co-writer on “Let’s Get It On,” over similarities between that song and “Thinking Out Loud.” The jury in this trial agreed, finding him not liable, per The Independent.

“It looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all,” Sheeran said outside the courtroom, per The BBC. “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.”

Sheeran previously stated that if he lost the suit, he would quit music for good. “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he testified earlier this week. “I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it.” To add insult to injury, he missed his own grandmother’s funeral to be present at a trial over a claim he clearly thought was bogus. His argument against the suit was that much of pop music shares similar chord progressions.

Though Sheeran has prevailed in this case, the amount of similar song-based copyright cases seems to be increasing. This isn’t even Sheeran’s first rodeo—after winning a victory in a copyright claim over “Shape Of You,” the singer tweeted, “Whilst we’re obviously happy with the result, I 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. It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.”