{"id":104913,"date":"2025-06-17T14:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=104913"},"modified":"2025-06-17T14:33:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T13:33:20","slug":"u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#8216;Thinking Out Loud&#8217; copyright battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 style=\"user-select: auto;\"><span style=\"color: #3366ff; user-select: auto;\">The U.S. Supreme Court just shut down the final appeal in the Ed Sheeran \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d copyright case.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from rights-holding firm Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which alleged that Ed Sheeran\u2019s 2014 hit \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d unlawfully copied Marvin Gaye\u2019s classic \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d This decision effectively upholds the rulings of lower courts in Sheeran\u2019s favor, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile copyright disputes in recent music history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case initially centered on claims that Sheeran\u2019s song mimicked key musical elements, such as melody, harmony, and rhythm, from \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d In 2023, U.S. District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed the lawsuit, concluding that the similarities pointed out by the plaintiffs involved standard musical building blocks that are not eligible for copyright protection. That decision was later affirmed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which rejected additional arguments that unpublished aspects of the original composition should be considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This Supreme Court decision follows a separate but related lawsuit brought by the heirs of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d That case ended in 2023 with a jury ruling in favor of Sheeran, reinforcing the position that \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d did not constitute copyright infringement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In comments made outside the courtroom following the earlier jury verdict, Sheeran expressed frustration over the years-long legal battle. He stated, \u201cIt\u2019s devastating to be accused of stealing someone else\u2019s song when we\u2019ve put so much work into our livelihoods.\u201d Throughout the process, Sheeran consistently argued that the chord progression at the heart of the lawsuit was a common structure used across many songs and genres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although this case is now settled, Structured Asset Sales is still pursuing a separate lawsuit related to its ownership interest in the sound recording of \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d That case is currently on hold, leaving the door open for further legal action, though the courts have now made their position on the composition rights clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.routenote.com\">Distribute your music for FREE with RouteNote!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. Supreme Court just shut down the final appeal in the Ed Sheeran \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d copyright case. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from rights-holding firm Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which alleged that Ed Sheeran\u2019s 2014 hit \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d unlawfully copied Marvin Gaye\u2019s classic \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d This decision effectively upholds the rulings of lower courts in Sheeran\u2019s favor, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile copyright disputes in recent music history. The case initially centered on claims that Sheeran\u2019s song mimicked key musical elements, such as melody, harmony, and rhythm,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":104914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11109],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>U.S. Supreme Court ends &#039;Thinking Out Loud&#039; copyright battle - RouteNote Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#039;Thinking Out Loud&#039; copyright battle - RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. Supreme Court just shut down the final appeal in the Ed Sheeran \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d copyright case. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from rights-holding firm Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which alleged that Ed Sheeran\u2019s 2014 hit \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d unlawfully copied Marvin Gaye\u2019s classic \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d This decision effectively upholds the rulings of lower courts in Sheeran\u2019s favor, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile copyright disputes in recent music history. The case initially centered on claims that Sheeran\u2019s song mimicked key musical elements, such as melody, harmony, and rhythm,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"RouteNote Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cover.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Emily Howarth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"RouteNote\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"RouteNote\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"RouteNote Blog\",\"description\":\"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg\",\"width\":1581,\"height\":1054},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/\",\"name\":\"U.S. Supreme Court ends 'Thinking Out Loud' copyright battle - RouteNote Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#8216;Thinking Out Loud&#8217; copyright battle\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895\"},\"headline\":\"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#8216;Thinking Out Loud&#8217; copyright battle\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage\"},\"wordCount\":363,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Music News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895\",\"name\":\"Emily Howarth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Emily Howarth\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/emily-howarth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"U.S. Supreme Court ends 'Thinking Out Loud' copyright battle - RouteNote Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"U.S. Supreme Court ends 'Thinking Out Loud' copyright battle - RouteNote Blog","og_description":"The U.S. Supreme Court just shut down the final appeal in the Ed Sheeran \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d copyright case. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from rights-holding firm Structured Asset Sales (SAS), which alleged that Ed Sheeran\u2019s 2014 hit \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d unlawfully copied Marvin Gaye\u2019s classic \u201cLet\u2019s Get It On.\u201d This decision effectively upholds the rulings of lower courts in Sheeran\u2019s favor, bringing an end to one of the most high-profile copyright disputes in recent music history. The case initially centered on claims that Sheeran\u2019s song mimicked key musical elements, such as melody, harmony, and rhythm,...","og_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/","og_site_name":"RouteNote Blog","article_published_time":"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/cover.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Emily Howarth","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"RouteNote","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","sameAs":[],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/routenote-logo.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"RouteNote"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#logo"}},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/","name":"RouteNote Blog","description":"The World of Digital Music - Distribution - Stores and Free Music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg","width":1581,"height":1054},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/","name":"U.S. Supreme Court ends 'Thinking Out Loud' copyright battle - RouteNote Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#8216;Thinking Out Loud&#8217; copyright battle"}]},{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895"},"headline":"U.S. Supreme Court ends &#8216;Thinking Out Loud&#8217; copyright battle","datePublished":"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T13:33:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#webpage"},"wordCount":363,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg","articleSection":["Music News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/u-s-supreme-court-ends-thinking-out-loud-copyright-battle\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/31b42cc40ec3ae230ccb7061c7c81895","name":"Emily Howarth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ceadd932ef7c036c1d57290d1c691893?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Emily Howarth"},"url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/author\/emily-howarth\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ed-sheeran-goes-country-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}