Ed Sheeran has come out victorious in the copyright battle over his song “Shape of You.”
Songwriters Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue sued Ed and his co-songwriters, claiming “Shape of You” was a rip-off of their 2015 song “Oh Why.” Well, apparently a judge didn’t agree.
Judge Antony Zacaroli ruled that Ed “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s song, and while there were some small similarities “such similarities are only a starting point for a possible infringement” of copyright. Zacaroli added there were “differences between the relevant parts” of the songs, which was enough to rule that Ed’s song “originated from sources other than ‘Oh Why.’”
After the verdict was announced, Ed jumped on social to talk about the experience – and situation for the entire music industry – for the first time…and his response was really thoughtful.
View this post on Instagram
But, he explains, “I feel like claims like this are way too common now and we’ve become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no base to the claim,” adding, “It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry. There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day.”
- Ed thanked fellow songwriters for their support, and offered, “I’m not an entity, I’m not a corporation. I’m a human being, I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a son,” adding, “Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience. And I hope that this ruling it means in the future baseless claims like this can be avoided. It really does have to end.”
Source: Variety