In brief
It's a new year and, in what is seemingly becoming an annual tradition, a new copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed against pop superstar Ed Sheeran. Lawyer Elliott Burton and Summer Clerk Jessie McKenna report.
In 2016 a lawsuit was brought against Sheeran claiming that he copied Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On' in his hit 'Thinking Out Loud' (the case was dismissed for procedural issues). In 2017 a $20 million lawsuit was filed against Sheeran, claiming his song 'Photograph' copied Thomas Leonard and Martin Harrington's 'Amazing' (resulting in them being added to 'Photograph''s credits and getting a significant share of royalties).
Now Australian musicians Sean Carey and Beau Golden are alleging copyright infringement. They claim the 2017 song 'The Rest of Our Life', co-written by Sheeran and released by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on the Sony label, is a 'blatant note for note copy' of their 2014 song 'When I Found You', performed by country singer Jasmine Rae. Released in 2015, 'When I Found You' reached number 1 on The Music Network's Australian Country Chart and was the most played Australian country song on the radio in 2016.
Carey and Golden filed their complaint in the US District Court in New York on 10 January 2018, seeking more than US$5 million in damages. They will need to prove that:
- 'The Rest of Our Life' is substantially similar to 'When I Found You'; and
- the co-writers of 'The Rest of Our Life' had access to 'When I Found You' before or while writing the song.
Carey and Golden certainly believe that the songs are substantially similar. They point to the similarities between the songs' melody, chord progressions, scale degrees, musical context and overall mood, claiming they're so obvious, it should be apparent to the ordinary observer that Sheeran 'ripped off' their song.
But why exactly do Carey and Golden think Sheeran had access to 'When I Found You'? They have two theories. The first is that Sheeran and Sony Music were exposed to it by Jasmine Rae's boyfriend, Tim Holland, a marketing manager for Sony Music. Carey and Golden suspect he may have promoted the song to Sony Music to gain exposure for Rae. Indeed, Holland confessed he was aware of the similarities between the songs for more than two months before 'The Rest of Our Life' was released. The second is that Sheeran may have been exposed to the song when he was touring Australia in 2016, at the same time that 'When I Found You' was enjoying its greatest radio success.
If Carey and Golden are successful, they will be seeking a permanent ban on the future use of 'The Rest of Our Life' without their permission, or royalties for any future use. This just goes to show that the consequences of having a catchy tune stuck in your head can be extremely serious.