Ed Sheeran wins copyright claim and warns against the “Bad Habits” of bringing claims

Copyright is defined as “a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression”. Different types of works are protected including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and more.

Determining originality is not an easy task as various influences converge to create original works and expressions. Where these works and expressions are so similar that they need to be closely examined in a court to determine if they infringe copyright laws, the services of a trained solicitor and a supportive law firm are needed.

Ed Sheeran has just won a copyright infringement suit brought against him by Sami Chokri who performs under the alias Sami Switch. Ed Sheeran had been accused of plagiarising part of a track called ‘Oh Why’ by Sami Chokri, along with two of his co-writers – Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and producer Steve McCutcheon.

Sami Chokri had claimed that Sheeran’s 2017 hit infringed “particular lines and phrases” of his 2015 song and he and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue further alleged that the main “Oh I” hook in ‘Shape Of You’ is “strikingly similar” to the “Oh Why” refrain in their own song. Chokri had further claimed that he and Sheeran had “overlapping circles” of artists, writers and producers in common, stating that there had been a “concerted plan” to bring ‘Oh Why’ to Sheeran’s attention, which claims were denied by Ed Sheeran’s party.

Ed Sheeran and his co-writers launched legal proceedings in May 2018, requesting that the High Court declare they had not infringed copyright. In July that year Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue lodged their own claim for “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement”.

Ed Sheeran and his co-authors denied all allegations of copying, claiming that they did not remember hearing ‘Oh Why’ before the claims were lodged.

After an 11 day trial, Justice Zacaroli ruled that Ed Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a phrase from ‘Oh Why’ when writing ‘Shape of You’.

Justice Zacaroli did acknowledge there were “similarities between the one-bar phrase” in ‘Shape Of You’ and ‘Oh Why’, but added that “such similarities are only a starting point for a possible infringement” of copyright.

In reacting to the judgment, Ed Sheeran stated that “It is so painful to have to defend yourself against accusations that you have done something that you haven’t done and would never do”, and called on all artists to continue to support each other in a spirit of creativity.

For further information on copyright law related issues please contact our Business Services Team, on 01908 660966 / 01604 828282 or by email info@franklins-sols.co.uk.