Ed Sheeran hit, Marvin Gaye classic soul of copyright trial
Jury selection and opening statements are set to begin in a trial that mashes up Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” with Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”
By ANDREW DALTON and LARRY NEUMEISTER
Published - Apr 24, 2023, 01:06 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 22, 2023, 04:46 AM EDT
NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection and opening statements are set to begin Monday in a trial that mashes up Ed Sheeran's “Thinking Out Loud” with Marvin Gaye's “Let's Get It On.”
The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye's co-writer of the 1973 soul classic, sued Sheeran, alleging the English pop star's hit 2014 tune has “striking similarities” to “Let's Get It On” and “overt common elements” that violate their copyright.
The lawsuit filed in 2017 has finally made it to a trial that is expected to last a week in the Manhattan federal courtroom of 95-year-old Judge Louis L. Stanton.
Sheeran, 32, is among the witnesses expected to testify.
