ED Sheeran wins copyright ruling

Ed Sheeran won his High Court copyright case over one of his 2017 hit songs Shape of You, as judge Antony Zacaroli, ruled on Wednesday that the singer-songwriter had “ neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied. Similarities between the one-bar phrase” in Shape of You and Oh Why, but said, “such similarities are only a starting point for a possible infringement” of copyright.  Ed Sheeran had not plagiarised the 2015 song Oh Why by Sami Chokri).  Chokri who performs under Sami Switch had claimed the “Oh I” hook in Sheeran’s track was “strikingly similar” to an “Oh why” refrain in his own track. Ed Sheeran said it was not about money but honesty and standing up for what was right.

To protect against future claims, he now films all of his songwriting sessions for evidence.

“Coincidence is bound to happen if 60, 000 songs are being released every day on Spotify, which is 22 million songs a year and there are only 12 notes that are available,” Ed Sheeran said.