Sheeran slams lawsuit culture after copyright win

ED Sheeran has hit out at a “damaging” culture of “unwarranted” legal claims against songwriters after winning a High Court copyright battle over his track Shape Of You. The singer said legal challenges are “way too common”, as a judge ruled his 2017 hit did not infringe another artist’s song.

Sheeran and his Shape Of You cowriters, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, had faced accusations they ripped off 2015 song Oh Why by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue.

In a ruling yesterday, Mr Justice Zacaroli concluded Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a phrase from Oh Why when writing Shape Of You. The judge said arguments that Sheeran had previously heard Oh Why were “speculative”, and he rejected allegations the star is a “magpie” who “habitually deliberately copies and conceals the work of other songwriters”.

Sheeran and his co-authors originally launched legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the High Court to declare they had not infringed Chokri and O’Donoghue’s copyright.

Two months later, Chokri, a grime artist who performs under the name Sami Switch, and O’Donoghue issued their own claim for “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement”. The pair alleged an “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You is “strikingly similar” to an “Oh Why” refrain in their own track.

All three Shape Of You co-authors denied allegations of copying and said they did not remember hearing Oh Why before the legal fight. Mr Justice Zacaroli dismissed Chokri’s counterclaim yesterday and granted a declaration to Sheeran and his fellow songwriters that they had not infringed the copyright in Oh Why.

In a video message after the ruling, Sheeran said: “Claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture, where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim, and it’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.

“Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and I hope with this ruling it means in the future baseless claims like this can be avoided. This really does have to end.”

In a separate joint statement with his fellow co-writers, Sheeran detailed the cost on “creativity” their case had, as well as the toll on their mental health. They added: “We believe that there should be due process for legitimate and warranted copyright protection. However, that is not the same as having a culture where unwarranted claims are easily brought. This is not constructive or conducive to a culture of creativity.”

Mr Justice Zacaroli said his analysis of the musical elements of Shape Of You and its writing process “provide compelling evidence that the Oh I phrase originated from sources other than Oh Why”. He said while there are “similarities” between the two songs’ hooks, there are also “significant differences”.

The judge said the songs’ phrases “play very different roles”, with the Oh Why hook reflecting the track’s “slow, brooding and questioning mood”, while Shape Of You’s Oh I phrase was “something catchy to fill the bar”. He said its simplicity meant it was not credible that Sheeran sought out inspiration from other songs to come up with it. He said Sheeran, McCutcheon and McDaid were “unaware” the dispute had frozen £2.2 million in royalties from their song and had said they were only in court to “clear their names”.