Ed Sheeran Shape of You verdict: Singer describes ‘cost on mental health’ after winning copyright trial
British star issues emotional statement after High Court judge rules that he and his co-writers did not plagiarise Sami Chokri’s 2015 track ‘Oh Why’
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Your support makes all the difference.Ed Sheeran has won the High Court battle over his hit 2017 single “Shape of You”.
The British singer-songwriter and his co-writers, Johnny McDaid of Snow Patrol, and producer Steven McCutcheon (Steve Mac), had denied copying parts of Sami Chokri’s 2015 track, “Oh Why”, for the song from Sheeran’s chart-topping third album, Divide.
Chokri – who performs under the name Sami Switch – and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue, alleged that the “Oh I” hook in “Shape Of You” is “strikingly similar” to the “Oh Why” refrain in their own track.
Ian Mill QC, representing Sheeran, McDaid and McCutcheon, said during the 11-day trial that the trio were clear that they had “no preconceived ideas” when going into Rokstone Studios, where “Shape of You” was written, on 12 October 2016.
In a ruling on Wednesday 6 April, Justice Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a phrase from “Oh Why” when writing “Shape of You”.
“There was a lot of talk throughout this case about cost. But there is more than just a financial cost,” Sheeran said in a joint statement released with McDaid and McCutcheon, following the ruling.
“There is a cost on creativity. When we are tangled up in law suits, we are not making music or playing shows.”
The statement continued: “There is a cost on our mental health. The stress this causes on all sides is immense. It affects so many aspects of our everyday lives and the lives of our families and friends. We are not corporations. We are not entities. We are human beings. We are songwriters. We do not want to diminish the hurt and pain anyone has suffered through this, and at the same time, we feel it is important to acknowledge that we too have had our own hurts and life struggles throughout the course of this process.”
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Ed Sheeran: ‘I’m not a corporation. I’m a human being'
Ed Sheeran has described the negative impact that the “Shape of You” lawsuit has taken on his mental health.
The singer, along with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and producer Steven “Mac” McCutcheon, had been accused of copying parts of his 2017 smash single from Sami Chokri’s 2015 track “Oh Why”.
On Wednesday (6 April) morning, Sheeran was cleared of plagiarism by Mr Justice Zacaroli, who ruled that there was “insufficient” evidence of “deliberate” copying.
Following the judge’s verdict, Sheeran released a video on social media talking about the case.
Full story here:
Ed Sheeran: ‘I’m not a corporation, I’m a human being’
Singer was cleared in plagiarism lawsuit on Wednesday morning
Ed Sheeran says lawsuits are ‘damaging to music industry’ –video
Read the full statement from Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac
Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and producer Steve Mac have released a statement after winning their “Shape of You” copyright lawsuit.
On Wednesday (6 April), Mr Justice Zacaroli cleared the trio of plagiarism, after it was alleged that they had copied parts of his 2017 smash single from Sami Chokri’s 2015 track “Oh Why”.
Following the judge’s ruling, Sheeran released a video on social media addressing the impact that the trial had had on his mental health.
A corresponding statement was released on behalf of all three “Shape of You” writers.
Read the full statement below...
Read Ed Sheeran’s full statement after winning Shape of You trial
Singer was cleared of plagiarism over hit 2017 single
Music experts weigh in on ‘Shape of You’ ruling
Isaac Murdy, intellectual property specialist at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, said: “This ruling indicates that the UK intellectual property courts aren’t going to support American-style speculative litigation.
“It will take more than a short section of ‘basic minor pentatonic pattern’ which is ‘entirely commonplace’, to establish a successful claim of copyright infringement.
“All music is derivative to a certain extent, and in the words of Elvis Costello ‘It’s how rock & roll works’. This ruling shows that clear similarities throughout two songs are needed to form a substantial case.”
Gill Dennis, copyright and brand protection expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “Copyright infringement proceedings are notoriously challenging to succeed in.
“A claimant must prove, with hard evidence, that the defendant had access to the song in order to copy it.
“Even with this evidence, and where commonality is found, it does not necessarily prove copying, particularly where a defendant can create doubt by demonstrating that their work had different origins.”
Experts said it was rare for copyright cases to get to court and “notoriously difficult” for songwriters claiming their copyright was infringed to succeed.
Reporting by Press Association