((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Adds requests for comment in paragraph 3, and background of the case in paragraphs 4-9) by Blake Brittain
Ed Sheeran, his record label Warner Music WMG.O and music publisher Sony Music Publishing 6758.T on Friday persuaded a US appeals court to uphold a ruling that his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” did not copy not illegally Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic “Let's Get It On”
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan approved a trial judge's dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Structured Asset Sales, which owns the rights to Gaye's song that previously belonged to co-writer Ed Townsend.
The owner of Structured Asset Sales – investment banker David Pullman – and one of his lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An attorney and spokespeople for Sheeran and the other defendants did not immediately respond to similar requests.
In May 2023, Sheeran won a separate copyright lawsuit brought by Townsend's heirs, who own a separate share of his interests in “Let's Get It On”, in a closely followed jury trial.
SAS sued Sheeran in 2018. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed the case following the verdict in the heirs' case.
Stanton believed that the musical elements allegedly copied by Sheeran were too common to merit copyright protection.
The court of appeal agreed with him, finding that the protection of these elements risked stifling creativity and that the songs of Sheeran and Gaye were not sufficiently similar for Sheeran's to have infringed the rights of author of SAS.
She also rejected the argument that Mr. Stanton should have reviewed Mr. Gaye's actual recording, which Mr. Pullman said included key elements that Mr. Sheeran copied, rather than focusing on the score of the song filed with the United States Copyright Office.
SAS filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on his rights to Gaye's recording. This matter is currently pending.
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