Today Ed Sheeran secured a victory at the high court today, when a judge ruled he did not steal from another songwriter, for his own mega-smash Shape of You.
The judge’s verdict that the popstar and his two co-writers did not copy part of the song Oh Why by Sami Chokri marks the end of an extraordinary trial - which saw Ed sing from the stand, a song yet to be released accidentally played to the court, and damaging claims that he is a "magpie" who habitually copies other artists.
After the judge's verdict, Ed and his co-writers, Snow Patrol's John McDaid and producer Steve McCutcheon released a heartfelt statement, where they described the toll of the case on their mental health and called for other songwriters to be "kind to one another."
The award-winning performer also took to Instagram to speak directly to fans in a video which has already been viewed more than 250,000 times in less than two hours.
In it, Ed warns that copyright cases like the one he fought are becoming more common, finishing: "This really does have to end."
Chokri, a grime artist who performs under the name Sami Switch, and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue, claimed an “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You is “strikingly similar” to an “Oh Why” refrain in their 2015 track.
The Shape Of You co-authors launched legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the High Court to declare they had not infringed Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue’s copyright.
In July 2018, Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue issued their own claim for “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement”.
The trial, which started on March 4, saw Andrew Sutcliffe QC, the Oh Why co-writers' lawyer, label Ed a "magpie".
"Mr Sheeran is undoubtedly very talented, he is a genius. But he is also a magpie,” Mr Sutcliffe said.
“He borrows ideas and throws them into his songs, sometimes he will acknowledge it but sometimes he won’t.”
The barrister also claimed Ed’s acknowledgement depended on how famous the other artist was, adding that Mr Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue “are not Shaggy, Coldplay, Rihanna or Jay-Z, if they were they would have been treated in a very different way”.
Ed, on the stand, hit back later that this was not the case, and said he “always tried to be completely fair” in crediting people who contribute to his albums.
The performer took to the stand over several days, just weeks after the death of his close friend and music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who he described as "my brother", adding in an emotional statement: "I would not be here without him, professionally and personally."
Journalists, court staff and lawyers were treated to a mini-concert when Ed sang snippets from of Shape of You and Nina Simone's Feeling Good.
The pop star also sang a section of his 2015 hit I See Fire while being cross examined, in an attempt to prove that certain songs sound the same, when put in the same key.
A clip of an unreleased song which Ed had written last January was also accidentally played in court that day, causing the singer to look confused, asking how the defence had got it.
Ed also revealed that he initially thought Shape of You "stuck out like a sore thumb" on his album Divide, when he was working on the single, and went on make changes.
Shape Of You was a worldwide hit, becoming the best-selling song of 2017 in the UK and the most streamed song in the history of Spotify.
He also disputed that the legal proceedings were financially motivated, after it was revealed that payments to Sheeran and his co-writers for the performances or broadcasts of the hit had been suspended by the industry body.
He told the court in a powerful message: "These proceedings are here so I can clear my name. That's the only reason I am here."
In today's verdict, Mr Justice Zacaroli said Sheeran "neither deliberately or subconsciously copied the phrase."
He acknowledged in a written verdict that while there are similarities between the two phrases, there are also "important differences."
In a joint statement following the decision, Sheeran, McDaid and McCutcheon spoke of the impact of the case on themselves and those around them, adding they will continue to stand up against "baseless claims".
They said: "There 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 law suits, we are not making music or playing shows.
"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. We do not want to diminish the hurt and pain anyone has suffered through this, and at the same time, we feel it is important to acknowledge that we too have had our own hurts and life struggles throughout the course of this process.
They went on: "There is an impact on both us and 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.
"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.
"At the same time, we believe that there should be due process for legitimate and warranted copyright protection.
Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here.
"However, that is not the same as having a culture where unwarranted claims are easily brought. This is not constructive or conducive to a culture of creativity.
"We are grateful that Mr. Justice Zacaroli has delivered a clear and considered judgment which supports the position we have argued from the outset. ‘Shape of You’ is original. We did not copy the Defendants’ song.
"We respect the music of those who’ve come before us and have inspired us along the way, whoever they are.
We have always sought to clear or to acknowledge our influences and collaborators. It doesn’t matter how successful something appears to be, we still respect it.
"It is so painful to hear someone publicly, and aggressively, challenge your integrity.
"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.
"We are privileged to do what we do, and we know that. We want to live in a world where we are free to do what we do, openly and honorably.
"While this has been one of the most difficult things we have ever been through in our professional lives, we will continue to stand up against baseless claims, and protect our rights and the integrity of our musical creativity, so we that can continue to make music, always."
In a video on his Instagram, Sheeran said: "Claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the aim that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court even if there is no case to the claim."
"It's really damaging to the song writing industry. There are only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,0000 songs are being released every day on Spotify, that's 22 million songs a year and there's only 12 notes that are available.
He added: "I don't want to take anything away from the pain and hurt suffered on both sides of this case, but I just want to say I am not an entity, I am not a corporation. I am a human being, I am a father, I am a husband, I am a son.
"Lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and I hope that this ruling means in the future baseless claims can be avoided."
