Ed Sheeran Opens Up About ‘Shape of You’ Copyright Case
After a lengthy legal process, Ed Sheeran has won his copyright lawsuit regarding his hit song ‘Shape of You.’
Back in 2018, artist Sami Chokri accused the 31-year-old and his collaborators – Johnny McDaid and Steve McCutcheon – of plagiarising a song his song ‘Oh Why.’
In the suit, Chokri claimed that the “Oh I” line in ‘Shape of You’ was similar to the sound of “Oh Why” in his own song.
However, on 6 April, Justice Zacaroli ruled in favour of Sheeran and said that the artist “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s track.
Even though the judge acknowledged that both of the aforementioned bars had “similarities”, he only considered them as a “starting point for a possible infringement” of copyright.
Shortly after the verdict, Sheeran, McDaid and Steve McCutcheon released a lengthy joint statement ti discuss the verdict.
“Here was a lot of talk throughout this case about cost. But there is more than just a financial cost. There is a cost on creativity. When we are tangled up in lawsuits, we are not making music or playing shows.,” they said.
“There is a cost on our mental health. The stress this causes on all sides is immense. It affects so many aspects of our everyday lives and the lives of our families and friends. We are not corporations. We are not entities. We are human beings. We are songwriters.”
The trio went on to say that the case has had not only had an impact on them but “the wider circle of songwriters everywhere.”
“Our hope in having gone through all of this, is that it shows that there is a need for a safe space for all songwriters to be creative, and free to express their hearts,” they continued. “That is why we all got into this in the first place. Everyone should be able to freely express themselves in music, in art and do so fearlessly.”
Since its release in 2017, ‘Shape of You’ has hit massive milestones within the industry.
After dominating for multiple weeks, the record became the most streamed song in the UK of all time. As of 2022, the song has reached three billion streams on Spotify and over 5 billion views on YouTube.
Check out Ed Sheeran’s video statement below.
