Ed Sheeran arrives at court for day two of Marvin Gaye’s copyright trial

Ed Sheeran has arrived in court for day two of a $100 million copyright lawsuit accusing him of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s soul classic Let’s Get It On.

The British pop star allegedly copied elements of the song for his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.

The family of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, says there are “striking similarities” between the songs.

During the opening trial at the Manhattan Federal Court on Tuesday, Sheeran was forced to deny allegations that a video of him performing a mash-up of the songs actually amounted to a “confession.”

Sheeran, 32, told the jury he “would have been quite an idiot to get on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that.”

The British pop star is accused of ripping off the American singer’s Let’s Get It On track for his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud

The heirs of Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend, claim there are “striking similarities” in the songs

U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton added a moment of levity when he told the seven jurors, “We don’t allow dancing” as videos of the pop star perform a medley of his hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get’. it On’ were played.

Lawyers for the Townsend heirs, seeking a $100 million payout, showed the video of the mash-up to support their claim that Sheeran, his label and music publisher owe them a share of the song’s profits.

Ben Crump said the case was about “giving credit where credit is due.”

Sheeran watched as his attorney, Ilene Farkas, insisted that the musician and co-writer, Amy Wadge, wrote their song independently, not stealing it from Townsend and Gaye.

She said they “made this heartfelt song without copying ‘Let’s Get It On.’

The chord progression and basic building blocks in Sheeran’s song are used frequently and were not first featured in “Let’s Get It On,” his attorney said.

‘Let’s Get It On’ has been heard in countless movies and commercials and has garnered hundreds of millions of streams, spins and radio plays since its release in 1973. ‘Thinking Out Loud’ won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 2016.

The lawsuit was filed in 2017. The trial is expected to take up to two weeks.

Townsend, who also wrote the 1958 R&B doo-wop hit “For Your Love,” was a singer, songwriter, and lawyer. He died in 2003.

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, his daughter, is the plaintiff leading the lawsuit.

“I think Mr. Sheeran is a great artist with a great future,” she said in her testimony, adding that she didn’t want it to come to this point of the matter. “But I must protect my father’s legacy.”

Sheeran is expected to testify again later in the trial as part of the defense case.

If the jury finds Sheeran liable for copyright infringement, the process will enter a second stage to determine how much he and his labels owe in damages.

Sheeran had to deny during opening statements on Tuesday that he had scammed the number

It was alleged that a video of him performing a mash-up of the songs amounted to a ‘confession’

Kathryn Townsend Griffin, daughter of singer and songwriter Ed Townsend, speaks in Manhattan court on Wednesday

Long ago: The heirs of Ed Townsend, Gaye’s co-writer of the 1973 classic, have sued Sheeran for “striking similarities” and “overt common elements” between the 2014 song and the Motown hit (Townsend pictured in 1959)

Mike Gilbert, partner and copyright infringement expert at Marks & Clerk, told DailyMail.com the lawsuit has potential implications for future cases.

He said: “Despite his clear victory in the English courts last year when faced with similar accusations from Chokri of copying harmonic progressions in Shape of You, Ed Sheeran will again be charged with thematic copying, but this time in the US legal system.

“Many had hoped that the earlier trial in the UK would have drawn a clear line in the sand for artists considering taking similar claims to court.

“In recent years, a growing number of these types of copyright infringement cases have reached the courts and the decision in the Chokri trial should have sent a clear signal that should deter future claimants.

The truth is that great artists are all too aware of the obligations they have to pay credit where credit is due. But this current battle is not with an artist, but with a songwriter’s legacy. And the claim was made years before the Shape of You decision was made last year.’

Gaye’s estate is not involved in the case, though it will inevitably have echoes of their successful lawsuit against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and TI over the similarity of their 2013 hit “Blurred Lines” to Gaye’s 1977 “Got to Give it Up.” .

A jury awarded Gaye’s heirs $7.4 million at trial — later reduced to $5.3 million by a judge — making it one of the most significant copyright suits in decades.