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Potential jurors in a lawsuit accusing Ed Sheeran of lifting parts of Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get it On” for his own music all but gushed over the singer during jury selection questioning Monday – costing them a spot on the panel.
The seven-person Manhattan federal court jury will decide the case brought by the heirs of late Ed Townsend – who co-wrote the iconic 1973 song with Gaye – claiming that Sheeran should have to pay them a portion of the profits from his track “Thinking Out Loud.”
The heirs claim Sheeran’s Grammy-winning song was too similar to the melody and other musical elements at the “heart” of Gaye’s one-time Billboard topper, according to their suit.
Sheeran, 32, has denied copying the track, and claimed that if the two songs sound alike, it’s because of his use of the fundamental musical “building blocks” that don’t fall under copyright protections.
The trial, being held in Manhattan federal court, is expected to last one week. The suit, filed in 2017, also names Sheeran’s label, Warner Music Group, and music publisher Sony Music Publishing.
The jury, made up of four women and three men, was chosen Monday — but not before several people were disqualified from serving because of their connections to Sheeran or to the music industry.
One pregnant woman told the judge that she played Sheeran’s song “Perfect” at her 2018 wedding and said because she was so far along in her pregnancy that she would require frequent breaks – prompting the lawyers to dismiss her.
Another potential female juror told the judge, “I have two teenage daughters who love Ed Sheeran.”
“It might be a little challenging to be impartial but I don’t know any Ed Sheeran songs myself,” she admitted, before she was let go.
A Columbia University music history teacher and a former employee in the music industry were also dismissed from serving on the jury.
The jury must determine whether the British singer-songwriter should be held liable for copyright infringement. If jurors rule against Sheeran, a second trial will be held to determine the amount of damages owed to the Townsend family.
Outside court Monday, Townsend’s daughter Kathryn Townsend Griffin said she doesn’t personally know Sheeran but, “You gotta pay – pay to play the music, that’s all.”
“My father told me ‘no matter what, protect my intellectual properties.'”
“That’s one of the very last things he said to me,” the daughter said. “And I’m doing just that. This ain’t about money. This is about principality and legacy.”
Sheeran’s hit song, which was a part of his 2014 album “X,” won two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance in 2016.
The “Shape of You” singer also faces two similar lawsuits by the company Structured Asset Sales LLC, which owns one-third of Townsend’s rights to the song. SAS, owned by investment banker David Pullman, sued for $100 million in 2018, claiming Sheeran’s tune “copied and exploited, without authorization or credit, the ‘Let’s Get It On’ composition.'”
In April 2022, Sheeran won a London copyright lawsuit over his 2017 song “Shape of You,” in which a judge found he didn’t rip off Sami Chokri’s “Oh Why” track.
The musician settled a $20 million copyright lawsuit in 2017 over his song “Photograph” — with the songwriters being added to the credits for “Photograph.”
Townsend’s family won $5.3 million in a case over Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ song “Blurred Lines” and its similarities to Gayes’ “Got to Give It Up.”
Trial is set to resume Tuesday with lawyers delivering opening statements to the jury.
With Post wires
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