A woman has accused Ed Sheeran of copying the hit Marvin Gaye song ‘Let’s Get It On’ collapsed in court today.
The singer is being sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who wrote the 1973 track, and the copyright infringement trial kicked off in Manhattan, New York earlier this week.Â
During day three of the trial, one of the heirs dramatically collapsed in court, and was carried out on a stretcher.
The daughter of the songwriter who has launched a copyright trial against Ed Sheeran has collapsed in court.
Kathyrn Townsend Griffin, who has accused Sheeran of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s track Let’s Get It On, was carried off in a stretcher. https://t.co/4O2ruVgCPG
— Metro (@MetroUK) April 27, 2023
Kathryn and the other heirs suing Ed claim that his 2014 song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copied ‘Let’s Get It On’.
They believe that parts of Ed’s hit track copies harmonic progressions and melodic and rhythmic elements without permission.
Ed vehemently denies the claims, and said in court on Tuesday: “It is my belief that most pop songs are built on building blocks that have been freely available for 100s of years.”
If the jury finds Ed liable for copyright infringement, the trial will enter a second phase to determine how much he and his labels owe in damages.
The first trial is expected to last about a week.
