Ed Sheeran is being sued for $100 million by a company that owns part of the copyright to the Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On.”
In 2016, it was reported that Ed Sheeran had been hit with a lawsuit from the family of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” The family claimed that Sheeran lifted multiple musical elements—including melody, harmony, and rhythmic components—from the Gaye work for his own song “Thinking Out Loud.” Now, another party has filed a suit against Sheeran for the same copyright infringement.
Sheeran responded to the 2016 suit in documents obtained by TMZ last week. He reportedly claimed that the chord progressions and drum patterns of the two songs were “extremely commonplace” and that similar elements in “Let’s Get It On” were in the public domain and unprotectable.
“Thinking Out Loud” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2014 and has been certified “diamond” by the RIAA for streaming-equivalent sales of over 10 million copies. “Let’s Get It On” topped the Billboard singles chart in 1973 and is certified platinum by the RIAA.
> Shiuly Rina
Ed Sheeran Sued as He Allegedly Copied Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get it On’
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