Ed Sheeran beats copyright appeal over claim Thinking Out Loud ripped off Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On
An appeals court has upheld a ruling that Ed Sheeran’s hit song Thinking Out Loud did not illegally copy the Marvin Gaye classic, Let’s Get It On.
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, New York, agreed with a lower-court judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which owns rights to the 1973 Gaye song that previously belonged to the late co-writer Ed Townsend.
SAS had made the allegations against Sheeran, his record label Warner Music, and music publisher Sony Music Publishing.
Ed Sheeran attended court in New York in 2023 for a hearing on a separate lawsuit about the same track, which he won. Pic: AP
It comes after a separate copyright lawsuit filed by heirs of Townsend over alleged similarities between the tracks. Sheeran won that case in May 2023, following a jury trial.
SAS sued Sheeran in 2018, four years after the release of his number one hit. US District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed the case following the verdict in the heirs’ case last year – concluding the musical elements allegedly copied were too common to merit copyright protection.
The appeals court has now agreed, saying Thinking Out Loud and Let’s Get It On are not similar enough for Sheeran to have infringed on copyright, and protecting the elements could stifle creativity.
SAS owner, investment banker David Pullman, said the company was reviewing all of its options following the decision.
Gaye, who died in 1984, collaborated with Townsend, who died in 2003, to write Let’s Get It On, which topped the Billboard charts in the year it was released. The track has been used in numerous films and adverts, and garnered hundreds of millions of streams and radio plays in the past 50 years.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Sheeran, who is from Suffolk, is one of the most successful modern music stars in the world. Thinking Out Loud, which won a Grammy for song of the year in 2016, is among his biggest hits.
Sky News has contacted representatives for the star for comment on the latest ruling.
After the result in 2023, he spoke outside court, saying he was “unbelievably frustrated baseless claims like this are allowed to go to court at all”.
He added: “We’ve spent the last eight years talking about two songs with dramatically different lyrics, melodies and four chords which are also different and used by songwriters every day, all over the world.”
The British star, 33, also won a similar copyright case in the UK in 2022 – this one relating to Shape Of You, another of his biggest hits.
During that hearing, he was accused by two lesser-known songwriters of ripping off part of one of their songs for his 2017 track. However, the High Court judge ruled that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a hook from the song.
Following that ruling, Sheeran released a video statement hitting out at “baseless” copyright claims that are “damaging” to the industry.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
Read more from Sky News:
Mum spared prison after son’s death
Last UK blast furnaces days from closure
Ship owner files legal claim after North Sea crash
The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Richest billionaires named
Springsteen’s seven new albums
He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
Read more from Sky News:
Tributes to ‘genius’ Kilmer
Penguin island facing tariffs
Richest billionaires named
Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway