Grammy-Award-winning musician Ed Sheeran has won a copyright lawsuit over his 2017 smash-hit Shape Of You. The UK pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, denied allegations that the song stole parts of 2015’s Oh Why by Sami Chokri.
“While there are similarities between the OW [Oh Why] hook and the OI [Oh I] phrase, there are also significant differences,” the High Court judge in London said. “I am satisfied that Mr Sheeran did not subconsciously copy Oh Why in creating Shape.”
Sheeran took to social media to address the case, telling fans that claims such as this are “really damaging to the songwriting industry.”
“There is a cost on creativity. When we are tangled up in lawsuits, we are not making music or playing shows,” he said. “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.”
He then followed that up with how false claims are becoming the norm, and it’s setting a dangerous precedent.
“Whilst we’re obviously happy with the result I feel like claims like this are way too common now and it’s become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking them to court, even if there’s no basis for the claim,” he said.
After dropping in 2017, Shape Of You became a huge success almost overnight, and since being posted, the music video has over 5.6 billion views on YouTube.
During the lengthy battle, the Shivers singer faced a long line of questioning, with many of those accusing him of ripping off other artists’ work.
Sheeran told the court that he had never heard the song, Oh Why, and always makes sure to credit other artists.
