The title of the Briton is one of the most listened to the world.
Le Monde with AFP
The British singer Ed Sheeran did not commit Plagiarism for his title Shape of You, concluded Wednesday, April 6, the High Court of Justice of London, who dismissed two songwriters who seized it.
The 31-year-old artist has not copied, “nor deliberately neither unconsciously”, part of the melody of the Oh Why song of Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue for his planetary tube, stressed Judge Antony Zacaroli. Dressed in a dark suit with a tie, Ed Sheeran had appeared in person at the High Court of London on the first day of the trial, on 4 March, during which the two titles had been broadcast.
For the complainants’ lawyer, Andrew Sutcliffe, “the similarity” between some passages was “striking”, they are “almost identical”. “Mr. Sheeran is undoubtedly very talented, it’s a genius. But it’s also a pie,” he added. “He borrows ideas and throws them into his songs, sometimes he recognizes him, sometimes not,” he had advanced: that “depends on who you are and if he thinks he can do it with impunity”. ” / P>
Other accusations
The lawyer stressed that his clients were “very talented songwriters, who deserve the same respect as any other artist and recognition when it is due.” Ed Sheeran and his co-authors, Steven McCutcheon and John McDaid, had rejected these accusations. They had seized the High Court in May 2018 for it to recognize that there was no copyright infringement. Two months later, in July, MM. Chokri and O’Donoghue had in turn initiated a judicial procedure against them.
Shape of You, the best-selling title in the world in 2017, also displays 3 billion listening on Spotify and almost 6 billion views on YouTube. The payment of copyright related to this title, estimated at 20 million pounds sterling (24 million euros) according to the Telegraph newspaper, was suspended by the collective management organization PRS.
In 2017, Ed Sheeran was also the artist who sold the most albums in the world, according to the International Federation of Phonographic Industry, with its Third Divide Album, which includes the Single Shape of You.
This is not the first time the artist is pursued for plagiarism. In the United States, the heirs of the legend Soul Marvin Gaye have accused him from having a little bit inspired by Let’s get it on for his mega Hit Thinking Out Loud.