Ed Sheeran appeared this Friday before a court in the British capital, where he was sued by two composers who accuse him of plagiarism of “shape of you“.
Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue accuse the artist of having been partially inspired by their theme “oh why” for the tune of his global hit, the world’s best-selling song in 2017.
Dressed in a dark suit and tie, the artist appeared in person before the High Court of the British capital on the first day of a trial that should last three weeks.
The two songs sounded on Friday in the room presided over by judge Antony Zacaroli.
For the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Andrew Sutcliffe, “the similarity” between certain passages “is surprising”, they are “almost identical”.
“Sheeran is without a doubt very talented, he is a genius. But he is also a magpie“He added, referring to the bird accused of being a thief, according to AFP.
“He borrows ideas and puts them into his songs, sometimes he admits it, sometimes he doesn’t.“, affirmed the lawyer. “Depends on who you are and if you think you can do it with impunity“, he added.
The lawyer stressed that his clients are “composers of great talent, who deserve the same respect as any other artist and due recognition.”
Sheeran and his songwriters, Steven McCutcheon and John McDaid, have denied the allegations. In May 2018, the three had asked the High Court to rule that copyright had not been infringed.
Two months later, Chokri and O’Donoghue in turn initiated legal proceedings against them.
Copyright payments for “Shape of You”, estimated at 20 million pounds (26 million dollars, 24 million euros) according to The Telegraph newspaper, were suspended by the body that manages them.
In 2017, Ed Sheeran was also the world’s best-selling artist, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), with his third album “Divide”, which includes the single “Shape of You”.
