09 May 2023 , 20:02
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Ed Sheeran has further spoken about his recent copyright infringement trial which concluded last week, sharing his opinion on why the jury sided with him in the case.
The heirs of the late Ed Townsend - who's credited as a writer on Marvin Gaye 's song Let's Get It On - had sued Sheeran, 32, claiming he copied elements of the 1973 song.
It was alleged that Sheeran's award-winning song Thinking Out Loud plagiarised harmonic progressions as well as melodic and rhythmic elements from the other song.
Sheeran however denied that he had copied the decades-old song with his track, which had been released as a single in 2014 and featured on his second studio album Multiply.
The trial at Manhattan Federal Court lasted almost two weeks and a jury found in Sheeran's favour last week - ruling against the claim that he had copied Let's Get It On.
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Ed Sheeran spoke about his recent copyright infringement trial whilst on Good Morning America (Good Morning America)Sheeran spoke about the recent case during an appearance on Good Morning America this morning (May 9), where he was interviewed by the show's anchor Robin Roberts.
Asked what he thought stood out to the jury that helped them rule in his favour, he said: "101 songs with the same chord sequence. And that was just like scratching the surface."
The singer-songwriter appeared to suggest the jury were made aware of several examples of other songs with the same chord sequence in question at the trial.
He continued by commenting on the ABC show earlier: "So I think it was basically, that was ... yeah it was very quick to see that and be like, 'oh, yeah. It's not original'."
A jury last week found in his favour, ruling that he hadn't copied elements of song Let's Get It On with his song Thinking Out Loud (Getty Images)Sheeran was also asked about having brought out his guitar during proceedings, with him said to have performed a version of his song in court to demonstrate its creation.
He said: "I'd been wanting to do it for ages since it came out but you have to do due diligence in court. So I just waited and knew that I would have my day to explain it and didn't rush anything."
Following the verdict on Thursday (May 4), Sheeran issued a statement outside the court in New York, in which he said that he was "very happy" with the outcome of the case.
He added that the two songs have "dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords, which are also different and [are] used by songwriters every day, all over the world."
Sheeran further commented about this: "These chords are common building blocks, which were used to create music long before 'Let's Get It On' was written and will be used to make music long after we are all gone."