COURTESY:PEOPLE
The jury has found Ed Sheeran not guilty in a complaint claiming copyright violation over his 2014 track “Thinking Out Loud.”
Sheeran was accused of stealing the exact components of the Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On” for his Grammy-winning hit in a jury trial that lasted more than a week.
Seven jurors in a New York City courtroom reached a unanimous conviction Thursday after nearly three hours of discussion.
“I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed,” Sheeran, said in the courthouse following the decision. “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.”
In 2018, Structured purchased a third of the song’s shares from the family of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with the legendary Gaye. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit was his daughter, Kathryn Townsend Gryphon.
After the verdict was read, the musician hugged his legal team and co-writer Amy Wadge before approaching plaintiff Kathryn Townsend Gryphon to exchange hugs. The singer embraced and kissed his wife, Cherry Seaborn, as he exited the courthouse.
The Grammy winner was asked what he would do if the court ruled that ‘Thinking Out Loud’ was too similar to ‘Let’s Get It On’. “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” Sheeran said. “I find it to be really insulting. I work really hard to be where I’m at.” He added.