Photo credit: Eva Rinaldi / CC from 2.0
Ed Sheeran is facing an appeal from the family of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ co-writer after recently winning ‘Thinking Out Loud’ for copyright infringement.
Following Ed Sheeran’s victory in the copyright infringement suit for the singer-songwriter’s “Thinking Out Loud,” the family of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Marvin Gaye plans to appeal the verdict in federal court in Manhattan. According to a, Ed Townsend’s family has appealed court records on Thursday.
While the document did not state the grounds on which the Townsend family would appeal, it did indicate that the family would appeal the judge’s ruling and several of its rulings.
The court ruled in Sheeran’s favor in May’s trial, finding that the singer did not intentionally commit copyright infringement. Sheeran played guitar and sang in court to demonstrate the prevalence of the chord progression in question.
“Of course I am very satisfied with the outcome of the case. And it looks like I won’t have to quit my job after all,” Sheeran said outside the courthouse after winning his case. “But at the same time, I’m incredibly frustrated that unsubstantiated claims like these are even allowed to go to court.”
Sheeran testified that he wrote most of his songs in one day and, when questioned by his attorney, pointed out that in composing “Thinking Out Loud” he didn’t “stop thinking about it,” elements of ” Let’s Get It On” as alleged to be copying the Townsend estate.
Townsend’s family alleged that Sheeran copied the sheet music “Let’s Get It On” and touted the case as “justice” for Townsend and Gaye’s legacies and for black musicians whose work was being misused by white artists.
Sheeran also won a copyright lawsuit in 2022 involving his song “Shape of You,” while Gaye’s heirs – who are not involved in the current lawsuit – won a case in 2015 against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for “Got to Give It Up”.