Ed Sheeran wins copyright lawsuit against Sami Chokri, issues statement on damaging claims

English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran on Wednesday won a copyright lawsuit filed by Sami Chokri, who goes by Sami Switch. Switch had claimed that Ed Sheeran’s 2017 hit single Shape of You had striking similarities to his song Oh Why.

In a ruling, Justice Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied a phrase from the latter. After the verdict, Sheeran took to social media, saying that such claims are baseless and very common. He said:

“While we’re obviously happy with the result, I feel like claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court. Even if there’s no base for the claim.”

Sheeran added:

“It’s really damaging to the songwriting industry. There’s only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music. Coincidence is bound to happen if 60,000 songs are being released every day on Spotify.”

A joint statement released with Johnny McDaid and Steven McCutcheon, who co-wrote Shape Of You along with Sheeran, read:

“There is a cost on our mental health. The stress this causes on all sides is immense. It affects so many aspects of our everyday lives and the lives of our families and friends. We are not corporations. We are not entities. We are human beings. We are songwriters. We do not want to diminish the hurt and pain anyone has suffered through this, and at the same time, we feel it is important to acknowledge that we too have had our own hurts and life struggles throughout the course of this process.”

The final ruling in Ed Sheeran’s copyright case

Ed Sheeran during a live performance (Image via AFP)

Sami Chokri had previously alleged that Sheeran had ripped off particular lines and phrases from Oh Why and also the chorus. The lawyers representing Chokri had called Sheeran a magpie who "borrows ideas and throws them into his songs."

Chokri also claimed that he had sent the track Oh Why to Sheeran's inner circle in the hopes of working with him but never heard back from the artist.

Here are the two songs:

In a written judgment on Wednesday, Justice Zacaroli ruled:

"While there are similarities between the OW Hook and the OI Phrase, there are also significant differences. As to the elements that are similar, my analysis of the musical elements of Shape more broadly, of the writing process and the evolution of the OI Phrase is that these provide compelling evidence that the OI Phrase originated from sources other than Oh Why.”

Ed Sheeran’s verdict comes after Katty Perry's ruling

Ed Sheeran’s ruling comes weeks after American pop singer Katy Perry won a copyright infringement case that had been going on since 2014 for her hit single Dark Horse ft. Juicy J.

In Katy Perry's case, a judge overturned a passed verdict passed by a jury. Gary, who goes by the stage name Flame, had noted that Perry's Dark Horse was similar to his song Joyful Noise.