Ed Sheeran to undergo $100 million trial over Marvin Gaye's copyright claim

English singer Ed Sheeran will reportedly stand trial in his $100 million copyright case over claims he copied his hit 2014 song 'Thinking Out Loud' from Marvin Gaye’s 'Let’s Get It On'. Recently, a Manhattan federal judge rejected the 31-year-old singer's efforts to toss out the long-running copyright case.

According to Sheeran’s lawyers, the lawsuit was invalid because the elements that were similar in the two tracks were not unique enough to be covered under copyright law. Citing a number of other songs including 'Since I Lost My Baby' as examples of tracks with similar elements, his legal team argued that the lawsuit didn't hold any relevance.

However, the US district judge Louis Stanton stated that there was “no bright-line rule”, and that Sheeran must face a jury to resolve the issue. The judge cited a disagreement between musical experts as a reason for his decision.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"There is no bright-line rule that the combination of two unprotectable elements is insufficiently numerous to constitute an original work," the judge wrote. "A work may be copyrightable even though it is entirely a compilation of unprotectable elements."

"Although the two musical compositions are not identical, a jury could find that the overlap between the songs’ combination of chord progression and harmonic rhythm is very close,"Stanton added.

The civil trial will take place in Manhattan. A date is yet to be set by the judge.

This is not the only trial the singer is facing over his track'Thinking Out Loud'.Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which acquired a portion of the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote 'Let’s Get It On', has filed a second casewhich is currently on pause.