The British singer Ed Sheeran won the court battle in New York, where he was accused of plagiarizing one song by the American “prince of soul” Marvin Gaye.

Jurors in Manhattan federal court, where this landmark copyright case was heard, found that the 32-year-old singer “independently” wrote the 2014 smash hit “Thinking Out Loud,” which is not partially stolen from “Let’s Get It On” by Gaye, a famous song from 1973.

Upon hearing the verdict, Sheeran stood up, thanked the jury and hugged his legal team.

The plaintiffs were the heirs of Ed Townsend, the American musician and producer who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye, the African-American soul music legend (1939-1984). As they argued, the two songs show “striking similarities” and “obvious commonalities”.

This is Ed Sheeran’s second plagiarism trial in a year: in April 2022 he won another case at the High Court in London, where two musicians accused him of copying a track of theirs for his smash hit “Shape Of You “.

At the trial in New York, the British composer and performer was even forced to play guitar and sing in front of the jury.

In a statement issued after the trial ended today, Sheeran said he was “very pleased” to have been vindicated against a “baseless” accusation.