British singer Ed Sheeran said baseless copyright claims were damaging the music industry after he won a case at the High Court in London on Wednesday over whether a refrain in his 2017 mega hit “Shape Of You” had been lifted from another artist.
Sheeran had been involved in a legal battle with grime artist Sami Chokri, who performs as Sami Switch, and music producer Ross O’Donoghue, who had argued the hook from “Shape of You” had been copied from their 2015 song “Oh Why”.
“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,” Sheeran said in a video posted on Twitter.
“It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.”
“Shape Of You” became the best-selling digital song worldwide in 2017 and has received more than 5.6 billion views on YouTube.
The judge, Antony Zacaroli, concluded there was no evidence that Sheeran had thought of writing the hit before October 2016.
He said he had analysed the song’s musical elements and found that there was “compelling evidence that the ‘OI (Oh I) Phrase’ originated from sources other than ‘Oh Why'”.
“While there are similarities between the ‘OW (Oh Why) Hook’ and the ‘OI (Oh I) Phrase’, there are also significant differences,” the judge concluded.
“I am satisfied that Mr Sheeran did not subconsciously copy ‘Oh Why’ in creating ‘Shape’.”
Shortly after the verdict, Chokri posted a video on Instagram of two people swimming in the sea with the caption: “Through despair I found an instant highway to gratitude.
“I am rich, of love, friends and family. This is the beginning not the end.”
