This week, the copyright infringement battle between Ed Sheeran, Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue entered its second week at the High Court. Ed Sheeran has been accused by Sami Chokri (known as Sami Switch) and Ross O’Donoghue for copying a part of their song “Oh Why” in his hit song “Shape of You”.
Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue first accused Ed Sheeran and his team of copying a specific part of their song in 2018. The allegations are based on the “oh I, oh I, oh I” line of “Shape of You” being a copy of their chorus line “oh why, oh why, oh why?”.
Copyright infringement claims are not uncommon in the music industry.
The purpose of copyright is to protect the expression of creative ideas. Original recorded musical works benefit from automatic protection under UK copyright law. The creator, or “author”, of the piece of work does not have to apply for copyright protection and, unlike trade marks, there is no register of copyrights.
The owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to copy, perform, show, play, communicate or adapt their copyrighted work. A copyright is infringed by anyone who carries out any of these exclusive rights over the whole or a substantial piece of the work without the copyright owner’s permission.
In Ed Sheeran’s case, one of the issues for the court will be whether the musical sequence in question in the song “Oh Why” can be considered “original” to enable it to benefit from copyright protection.
Just last week, a landmark ruling was given in a copyright infringement appeal in Katy Perry’s favour – a decision which Ed Sheeran’s solicitors will welcome. Like in Ed Sheeran’s case, Katy Perry was accused by Marcus Gray of copying an eight-note sequence from his song “Joyful Noise” in her hit “Dark Horse”.
At first instance, Katy Perry was ordered to pay Marcus Gray $2.8million for copyright infringement. This decision was subsequently overturned on the grounds that the sequence in question in Marcus Gray’s song could not be considered “original” and that finding an infringement of copyright in this instance would effectively establish an “improper monopoly” over other similar short musical sequences. This decision was subsequently upheld on appeal.
Royalty payments have been frozen on the song “Shape of You” since legal proceedings were raised which are now well into the millions of pounds. It is, therefore, clear to see how much can be at stake in copyright infringement claims. What is not yet clear, however, is in whose favour the decision of the court will fall. The trial is expected to last three weeks in total and this week sees Sami Chokri give his evidence.
If you are looking to protect your own intellectual property rights, it is important to obtain legal advice from a specialist solicitor. With experts across this field, we can provide a tailored service to your needs.
