LONDON (AP) - Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran won a UK copyright battle on Wednesday over his 2017 hit "Shape of You", then described it as a "culture" of baseless lawsuits aimed at raking in money from eager artists. Had to squeeze. To avoid the expense of a test.
The British pop star and his co-writer, Snow Patrol's John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, denied allegations that the song had copied part of 2015's "Oh Why" by Sami Chokri, who performed under the name Sami Switch. Is.
“While we are clearly pleased with the outcome, it seems to me that such claims are now very common and have become a culture where claims are made with the idea that settlement will be cheaper than taking them to court, even if There's no basis for the claim," Sheerhan said in a video posted on Twitter. "It's really damaging to the songwriting industry."
Andrew Sutcliffe, attorney for the co-authors of "Oh Why," argued that there was "undeniable similarity between the works." He claimed that "oh why" was in Sheeran's head "consciously or unconsciously" when "Shape of You" was written in 2016.
The plaintiffs alleged that the refrain from "Oh I, Oh I, Oh I" in the chorus of "Shape of You" was "very similar" to the line "Oh why, oh why, oh why" in their track.
During the 11-day trial, Sheeran denied allegations that he "borrowed" from unknown songwriters without any acknowledgment and said that he has always been fair in giving credit to the people who contributed to his album.
In Wednesday's ruling, High Court Judge Antony Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran "neither consciously nor subconsciously" copied a phrase from "Oh why" when writing his smash hit.
Sheeran, McDaid and Mack said in a statement that the cost of the case was more than financial. The stress of going for tests also hurts creativity, taking less time and emotional toll to make music, he said.
"It's very painful to hear someone publicly and aggressively challenge your integrity," the trio said. "It's so painful to defend yourself against accusations that you've done something you haven't, and never will."
"Shape of You" was the best-selling song of all time in the UK in 2017.