Ed Sheeran has won a High Court battle over the copyright of his chart-topping 2017 single Shape of You, after fending off allegations that he is a musical “magpie” who steals from other artists.
The 31-year-old star was accused of ripping off 2015 song Oh Why by grime artist Sami Chokri when he wrote the No1 hit with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon.
Chokri – who performs as Sami Switch – and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue, claimed an “Oh I” hook in Shape Of You was “strikingly similar” to the “Oh Why” refrain in their track.
Sheeran was accused of being a “magpie” by taking ideas from lesser known songwriters without credit, but he denied the claim during an 11-day High Court trial.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Justice Zacaroli delivered his verdict in the case, finding that Shape of You had not infringed the copyright of the creators of ‘Oh Why’.
The judge found Sheeran had not even heard the “Oh Why” song before writing his own hit, ruling he did not deliberately or subconsciously steal from it.
“While there are similarities between the Oh Why hook and the Oh I phrase, there are also significant differences,” he said.
Calling the copyright claim “speculative,” he added: “My analysis of the musical elements of Shape more broadly, of the writing process and the evolution of the Oh I phrase is that these provide compelling evidence that the Oh I phrase originated from sources other than Oh Why.”
Sheeran brought the initial legal claim, seeking a declaration that there had not been an infringement of copyright, and he gave evidence during the trial to deny taking ideas without credit. He said he did not recall meeting Chokri at a party in a Nando’s restaurant in central London, and denied the ‘Oh why’ song had been passed to him by his friend, the late music producer Jamal Edwards.
Sheeran said he “always tried to be completely fair in crediting anyone who makes any contribution to any song I write”, adding that he had been “as scrupulous as I possibly can and have even given credits to people who I believe may have been no more than a mere influence for a song-writing element”.
Describing his writing process, the singer said he has “no premediated thought process” and “almost all of my songs are written in under two hours”.
The winner of six Brit Awards and four Grammys told the court he was trying to “clear my name” and denied using litigation to “intimidate” Chokri and Mr O’Donoghue into abandoning the copyright dispute.
His barrister, Ian Mill QC, said the legal battle had been “deeply traumatising” for Sheeran, while McDaid gave evidence to defend their writing session at the Rokstone Studios on October 12 2016.
Describing a “frenetic, rapid process”, he said all three of them chipped in with “ideas for melody and lyrics” and added that Sheeran is “the fastest and most prolific songwriter I have ever worked with”.
In his evidence, Chokri said he was “shocked” when he first heard Shape of You on the radio, having allegedly tried to get Sheeran to listen to his music because he was “inspired by his success and stardom”.
The grime artist claimed Sheeran “stole” part of his song.
The court heard £2.2 million in royalties for Shape of You, a worldwide hit and top streaming track on Spotify, had been frozen during the legal battle.
