AFP
British pop star Ed Sheeran, 31, received more than $1,125 million in damages on Tuesday to cover his court costs after winning a legal battle with songwriters who accused of plagiarism.
In early April, the High Court in London agreed with the singer, at the end of a judgment that it considered emblematic of the abusive practices that plague the music industry.
In the court’s opinion, Sheeran did not “deliberately” or “unknowingly” copy part of the melody of the song “Oh Why” (2015), composed by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue, for his “Shape of You”, one of the most ears of the world.
In a supplementary decision issued on Tuesday, Judge Antony Zacaroli ruled that the plaintiffs should pay court costs. During the ten-day trial in March, both songs and, by mistake, a snippet of a previously unreleased song by Ed Sheeran were played.
The artist denied having “borrowed” ideas from lesser-known composers, while the plaintiffs’ lawyer, while acknowledging his “genius”, accused him of being “a magpie”, a bird often characterized as a thief.
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