Ed Sheeran Threatens To Quit Music If He Loses 'Insulting' Infringement Suit

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When Ed Sheeran took the witness stand on Monday for his copyright infringement trial, his frustration was obvious.

The pop musician is being sued by the estate of one of Marvin Gaye's co-writers, who claims Sheeran's 2014 track "Thinking Out Loud" is an imitation of the timeless "Let's Get It On."

According to the Daily Mail, Sheeran even vowed to give up music if the judge ruled against him while testifying.

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Under oath, he said to his attorney Ilene Farkas, "If that happens, I'm done, I'm stopping."

The "Photograph" songwriter expressed his outrage in court, saying, "I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it."

Later, Sheeran claimed that Robert Frank, the plaintiff's attorney, was trying to downplay his accomplishments.

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That song won my first Grammy, "Thinking Out Loud." Sheeran has won four Grammys in total.

The plaintiff's legal team unveiled what they referred to as their "smoking gun" last week: a video of Sheeran flawlessly fusing his song with the music from the Gaye album during a live performance.

In response, the singer testified, “If I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be an idiot to stand onstage in front of 20,000 people [and do that].”

AP

Music by Sheeran and Gaye has been the subject of copyright disputes in the past.

Sheeran was found not guilty of copyright last year after being charged with using his song "Shape of You" without permission.

Gaye's estate, which is not a party to the present lawsuit, prevailed in a legal battle against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in 2015 over "Blurred Lines'" startling resemblance to "Got to Give It Up."

The musician has previously explained how he came up with the song about everlasting love shortly after starting a new relationship and after his grandfather died.

'I draw inspiration a lot from things in my life and family,' said Sheeran.

Wadge started playing the song's chords while visiting Sheeran at home in England, and they worked together on the lyrics, according to Sheeran.

He sang the line "I'm singing out now" on the witness stand, which he claimed to have sung during his songwriting session with Wadge.

His song reached the top of the charts in the US and the UK. It won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, but Townsend's family filed a lawsuit in 2017 for copyright infringement.

There will be a second trial to calculate the damages if Sheeran is proven guilty.