The US Supreme Court has refused to reopen a case challenging Ed Sheeran’s hit ‘Thinking Out Loud’ for alleged copyright infringement.

Ed Sheeran attends the ‘Songwriter’ press conference during the 68th Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 23, 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Structured Asset Sales’ appeal seeking to resurrect a copyright?infringement claim that accused pop star Ed Sheeran of unlawfully copying elements of Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On” in his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud”.

Structured Asset Sales, a company owned by investment banker David Pullman and holder of a partial copyright interest in Gaye’s composition, had sued Sheeran, his record label Warner Music, and music publisher Sony Music Publishing in pursuit of monetary damages. The company alleged that “Thinking Out Loud” replicated the melody, harmony and rhythm of “Let’s Get It On”.

Gaye, who died in 1984, co?wrote the soul standard with singer?songwriter Ed Townsend, who passed away in 2003. While “Let’s Get It On” topped the Billboard charts in 1973, Sheeran’s track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015. Structured Asset Sales owns a share of Townsend’s former rights and contended that Sheeran had misused protected musical material.

In 2023, US District Judge Louis Stanton ruled that the disputed musical elements were so commonplace that they did not warrant copyright protection. The New York?based Second US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision last year, also rejecting the company’s argument that Judge Stanton should have considered elements of “Let’s Get It On” not contained in the deposit copy lodged with the US Copyright Office.

During a separate 2023 trial brought by Townsend’s heirs on similar grounds, a Manhattan federal jury likewise found in Sheeran’s favour. “It’s devastating to be accused of stealing someone else’s song when we’ve put so much work into our livelihoods,” Sheeran said outside the courthouse after that verdict.

Structured Asset Sales has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on its rights to the audio recording of “Let’s Get It On”; that action remains paused pending further court proceedings. (AriseNews TV)

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