US Supreme Court declines to hear copyright claim that alleged Ed Sheeran copied Marvin Gaye track

ANI June 18, 2025 256 views

The US Supreme Court declined to hear a copyright case against Ed Sheeran, ending a long legal battle over his song "Thinking Out Loud." The lawsuit, filed by Structured Asset Sales, claimed Sheeran copied elements from Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's Get It On." A lower court had already dismissed the case, stating the musical similarities were too generic. Sheeran, who recently collaborated with Arijit Singh on a new track, expressed relief over the verdict.

"It's devastating to be accused of stealing someone else's song when we've put so much work into our livelihoods." - Ed Sheeran
Los Angeles, June 17: Ed Sheeran has scored a major legal win as the Supreme Court rejected a copyright lawsuit alleging that the British hitmaker's 2014 hit song 'Thinking Out Loud' copied music chords from Marvin Gaye's classic 'Let's Get It On'.

Key Points

1

Supreme Court upholds dismissal of Sheeran copyright case

2

Judge ruled musical elements too common to claim infringement

3

Sheeran previously won similar lawsuit by Ed Townsend's family

4

SAS, owned by David Pullman, had pursued the legal battle

On Sunday, the Supreme Court decided not to hear the case brought by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns a portion of the rights to Gaye's song. The decision keeps in place the lower court decision that Sheeran was not liable in the copyright infringement lawsuit, as per Fox News.

SAS, which is owned by investment banker David Pullman, had argued that Sheeran used the copyrighted melody, harmony and rhythm of Gaye's "Let's Get It On."

The case was dismissed in 2023 after U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton decided that the musical elements Sheeran was accused of copying were too common.

The dismissal followed Sheeran's victory in a separate copyright lawsuit over the song that was brought by the family of singer-songwriter Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Gaye's song

"It's devastating to be accused of stealing someone else's song when we've put so much work into our livelihoods," Sheeran said outside the courthouse following that verdict

SAS appealed Stanton's decision, though the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judge's decision last year.

Meanwhile, Ed is basking in the success of his latest song 'Sapphire' that he made in collaboration with Arijit Singh.

Sharing what went behind the track, Ed in an Instagram post wrote, "Sapphire was the first song I finished for Play that made me know where the album was heading. It's why I finished the recording process in Goa surrounded by some of the best musicians in India. It was an incredible creative process. I shot the music video with @liampethickphoto and @nicminns across my India tour earlier this year, we wanted to showcase the beauty and breadth of the country and its culture."

He added, "The final jigsaw piece for me was getting @arijitsingh on the record, I'll make a post about that in a few days but it was a journey to get there and such an amazing day of music and family. Me and him have done a full Punjabi version of the song that will come out in the next few weeks, which has a lot more of him on it. This is the album version of the song, and my favourite song on the album. Hope you guys love it. Sapphire out now x."

Reader Comments

P
Priya K.
Common chords shouldn't be copyrightable - good decision by SC! Otherwise every Bollywood song would be in court 😅 Loved that Ed mentioned his India connection in the article. His collab with Arijit is pure magic!
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Rahul S.
As a musician myself, this sets a dangerous precedent. While the chords may be common, the overall composition similarity needs deeper examination. Hope Indian courts learn from this when handling our music copyright cases.
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Ananya M.
So happy for Ed! His Goa recording session shows how global artists are embracing Indian talent. Waiting eagerly for the Punjabi version with Arijit Singh - what an unexpected but amazing combo! ❤️
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Vikram J.
The real story here is how Western artists are increasingly collaborating with Indian musicians. Shows the growing soft power of our music industry. More power to such cross-cultural exchanges!
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Neha P.
While I'm happy for Ed, I wish Indian artists got the same level of copyright protection abroad. Many of our folk songs have been 'sampled' by international artists without proper credit or compensation.

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Tags:
Ed Sheeran Marvin Gaye Thinking Out Loud Let's Get It On copyright lawsuit Supreme Court David Pullman