Ed Sheeran Is In A $20 Million Lawsuit Over This Song

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Pop star Ed Sheeran has been hit with a $20 million lawsuit for alleged plagiarism over his single “Photograph.” While lawsuits like this are very common in the industry, Sheeran shouldn’t be resting too easy with this one.

The two songwriters suing the pop star have written for artists such as Kylie Minogue and Spice Girl Emma Bunton. They are also represented by attorney Richard Busch, whose last big copyright lawsuit was on behalf of the Marvin Gaye family over the hit, “Blurred Lines.” He won a staggering $5.3 million judgment on that one.

Plaintiffs Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard are claiming that Sheeran’s “Photograph” song derives from their 2009 work, “Amazing.”

Their song was recorded and released as a single by Matt Cardle, the winner of the 2010 season of the television competition show The X Factor.

According to documents, “Photograph” has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide and was featured in the recently released movie Me Before You and its trailers.

The lawsuit says: “Given the striking similarity between the chorus of Amazing and Photograph, (the) defendants knew when writing, publishing, recording, releasing, and distributing Photograph that they were infringing on a pre-existing musical composition.

“The conduct of (the) defendants has been wilful from the inception of the creation of Photograph.

“The copying of Amazing by Photograph is breathtaking in its deliberateness, magnitude, and hubris.”

“My clients are professional songwriters,” says Busch. “Their work is their life, and I am honored that they have trusted me with this very important case.”