Ed Sheeran & Co-Writers Awarded $1.1 Million In Copyright Lawsuit

Ed Sheeran has provided us with timeless hits over the years. Some of his memorable songs include the likes of Shape Of You. After winning their high court copyright trial over the hit Shape of You earlier this year, Ed Sheeran and his co-songwriters were granted more than $1.1 million in legal expenses.

The singer and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, were accused of plagiarizing a 2015 song by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue at a March hearing. Mr Justice Zacaroli, on the other hand, decided that Sheeran neither intentionally nor unconsciously plagiarized a sentence from the song.

Sheeran, his co-authors, and their record labels first filed a lawsuit in May 2018, requesting that the high court rule that they had not infringed on Chokri and O’Donoghue’s copyright. Chokri, who goes by the stage name Sami Switch, and O’Donoghue filed their own action for “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement” two months later.

He dismissed the counterclaim and issued a declaration to Sheeran and his co-writers, stating that the copyright in Oh Why had not been violated. Chokri and O’Donoghue’s lawyers said Sheeran and the other claimants should pay their own legal fees after the verdict, stating they failed to submit papers and displayed “awkwardness and opacity.”

According to Guardian, Zacaroli ruled on Tuesday that the lesser-known songwriters should pay the legal fees, and ordered an interim payment of $1.1 million. The sums will be assessed and finalized at a later hearing. The judge dismissed allegations that if specific papers and explanations regarding how Shape of You was developed had been disclosed earlier, the defendants’ approach to the case would have changed.

I consider it is appropriate that the claimants’ success is reflected in an order that their costs are paid by the defendants, without reduction save for that which is made as part of the process of detailed assessment.

Congratulations to Ed Sheeran and co. for winning the huge amount. You can revisit Ed’s “Shape of You” below. Stay tuned to Thirsty for further updates into the music world.

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