Ed Sheeran has won a copyright battle over his 2017 hit ‘Shape of You’ in a UK court after a judge ruled on Wednesday (April 6) that the star had not copied the song from a little-known track.
The judge ruled that Sheeran’s megahit, which spent 12 weeks at the top of the Hot 100, didn’t infringe a 2015 song called “Oh Why” by an artist named Sami Chokri, who performs as Sami Switch, and music producer Ross O’ Donoghue was released.
Sheeran was quick to celebrate the ruling in a video posted to social media — and blasted what he called “baseless” lawsuits and the damage they’re doing to the music industry.
“While we are obviously happy with the outcome, I feel that claims like this are far too common now and have become a culture where claims are made with the idea that it’s cheaper to settle than going to court walk. Even though there is no basis for the claim,” Sheeran said. “It’s really detrimental to the songwriting industry. There are only a limited number of notes and very few chords used in popular music. If 60,000 songs are released on Spotify every day, coincidence must happen.”
An attorney for Chokri and O’Donoghue did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.
The ruling followed an 11-day trial in London last month, in which Sheeran repeatedly took the stand and dismissed accusations that he was a “magpie” borrowing from other songwriters. The star also sang briefly from the witness stand.
In his ruling, Judge Antony Zacaroli ruled that there was no evidence Sheeran intentionally or “subconsciously” copied from “Oh Why” when writing “Shape of You.” He said that while “there are similarities” between the two songs, “there are also significant differences.”
The judge also dismissed the argument by Chokri and O’Donoghue’s attorneys that the speed with which Sheeran had written his hit song indicated that he had copied it from the earlier song.
“I reject this submission,” Zacaroli wrote. “The clear picture of all those who collaborate with him in songwriting is that he has a rare ability to develop lyrical and melodic ideas and combine them into catchy songs at great speed.”
Over the years, Sheeran has faced repeated copyright lawsuits. In 2017 he settled a US case over Tim McGraw’s “The Rest of Our Life,” which he co-wrote, and in 2018 he settled another case over his hit song “Photograph.” He also faces a trial in a New York federal court over allegations that he copied his song “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”
In his statement Wednesday, Sheeran made a personal appeal to the toll such cases take.
“I just want to say, I’m not an entity, I’m not a corporation, I’m a person and a father and a husband and a son,” Sheeran said. “Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and I hope this ruling means baseless claims like these can be avoided in the future.”
See Ed’s comments and a copy of the judgment below.
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