Ed agrees deal

ED SHEERAN has reached a deal with songwriters who sued him for ripping off their music.

Last June Ed was asked to fork out £14million for copyright infringement by Thomas Leonard and Martin

Harrington who say his 2014 ballad Photograph is a “note for note” copy of their track Amazing.

The songwriters argued in court that Photograph shared 39 identical notes with similarities to theirs – a song that was released by former X Factor winner Matt Cardle in 2012. Now a California judge has dismissed the case after Harrington – who has written for Kylie Minogue and Emma Bunton – and Leonard accepted an out-of-court settlement from Ed.

On Friday legal papers were filed revealing an undisclosed deal had been reached. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be presented again.

While the precise terms of the agreement have not been revealed, insiders believe the compensation was substantial.

This is just one in a few cases filed against the multimillionaire pop star, 26, for alleged plagiarism. Following his current smash hit single Shape Of You being compared by fans to US girlband TLC’s 1999 song No Scrubs, Ed has now given the songwriters credit.

Marvin Gaye’s family is also suing Ed for allegedly copying the melody and harmony from Gayle’s 1973 hit Let’s Get It On in his hit Thinking Out Loud.