Ed Sheeran Will Have to go to Court for $100 Million Marvin Gaye Plagiarism Lawsuit

Ed Sheeran will have to sit in court for a lawsuit over his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud".

The singer-songwriter had requested a $100 million lawsuit that claims he plagiarized from Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" be dismissed, but a U.S. judge doesn't agree. Manhattan District Judge Louis Stanton ruled that the case should indeed go to trial.

Sheeran, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and Atlantic Records will now have to face a jury, who will decide if all parties involved are liable to the estate and heirs of the late producer Ed Townsend, who co-wrote "Let's Get It On" with Marvin Gaye.

Judge Stanton ruled that there are "substantial similarities between several of the two works' musical elements," including the bass lines and percussion.

Sheeran has continuously denied lifting from the Gaye song

"Let's Get It On" co-writer Townsend's heirs first filed a lawsuit against Sheeran for "Thinking Out Loud" back in 2016, and then news broke in June of 2018 that Structured Asset Sales LLC, which owns one-third of Townsend's estate, filed this $100 million lawsuit.

This isn't the first time Sheeran has been hit with plagiarism claims. In 2016, Sheeran was sued for $20 million by songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard. The songwriters claimed his hit "Photograph" lifted from their song "Amazing," performed by 2010 X Factor UK winner Matt Cardle.