Sheeran is accused in a civil case by the survivors of Ed Townsend who, along with Marvin Gaye, wrote the hit song "Let's get it on" in 1973. Towsend's relatives say Sheeran's 2014 song has "striking similarities" and "obvious common elements" to the '70s classic. The court also showed a video of Ed Sheeran going from singing one song to another.
Sued by Townsend's daughter
In response, Ed Sheeran explained that "it's pretty easy to go in and out of songs that are in the same key". His lawyer insisted that Sheeran – along with Amy Wadge – wrote the song completely independently without having copied anyone else.
Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of Ed Townsend, in turn described Ed Sheeran as "a great artist with a great future".
"But I have to protect my father's legacy.
The lawsuit was filed in 2017 and the court proceedings are now expected to last two weeks.