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The copyright infringement lawsuit was filed by the heirs of
Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the lyrics to "Let's Get It On" in
1973 and created its musical composition, according to the
complaint filed in federal court in the Southern District of New
York.
Representatives for defendants Sheeran, Sony/ATV Music
Publishing, and Atlantic Records did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The lawsuit, which asks for damages to be assessed at a jury
trial, argues that the harmonic progressions, melodic and
rhythmic elements central to "Let's Get It On" formed the
structure of Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud."
"The Defendants copied the 'heart' of 'Let's' and repeated it
continuously throughout 'Thinking,'" the lawsuit said. "The
melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions of 'Thinking' are
substantially and/or strikingly similar to the drum composition
of 'Let's.'"
Grammy Award-winning Sheeran has become one of Britain's
top-selling artists in the past two years, and has written and
co-written tracks for artists such as One Direction, Taylor
Swift and Justin Bieber.
The lawsuit came two months after California-based musicians
sued Sheeran for $20 million over his hit song "Photograph" in
an unrelated case.
Gaye's family last year successfully sued R&B recording artists
Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement in
another unrelated case over their hit single "Blurred Lines,"
winning a $7.4 million judgment.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Richard
Chang)
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