Musician’s appeal to drop copyright lawsuit denied

Jan092019
Peterson Watts Law Group, LLP

The music industry is certainly that built on highly creative works and endeavors. That creative nature, however, does not negate the fact that it is still a business and one that many people in California make their living from. Any companies that are involved in the music industry or that rely on protections from copyrights might understandably keep a close eye on prominent litigation in this arena.

One case that has been in the works for about two years now appears to be headed all the way to a full trial after a recent ruling by a judge in the matter. As reported by Digital Music News, the popular singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was accused of a copyright infringement for a song he released in 2013. The accusation was made by a man who co-wrote a song some 40 years earlier. It is asserted that Sheehan essentially plagiarized the earlier work in his piece.

The defendant has repeatedly denied any legal infringement’s on the song from the 1970s and actually filed a request to have the case against him dismissed. After reviewing the summary judgement filed by Sheeran, a judge in New York refused to throw out the case. This ruling puts the case on track for a trial decision.

One of the points at issue in this matter is a video version of the recent song in which Sheeran is said to have mixed both non-recorded and studio recorded versions of the older song to the point that extreme similarities between the songs are said to exist.