UPDATE 11/13/2018:
Sounds like this one is all wrapped up. According to The Sydney Morning Herald:
A lawyer for the songwriters said all parties have agreed in principle to settle the case, and have it dismissed in 30 days if all “final issues” are resolved.
The settlement was disclosed in a letter filed on Thursday night with the US District Court in Manhattan. – Australian songwriters settle copyright suit with Ed Sheeran
Here’s the original post:
Hollywood Reporter posted on 1/10/2018 that, “Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who together released a song in October [2017] titled ‘The Rest of Our Life,’ along with Ed Sheeran who is credited with co-writing this tune, have all been hauled into court in the latest copyright lawsuit targeting a chart-topper.” The similarities seem pretty obvious to me. As you can see by the links at the bottom of this post, this isn’t the first time Ed Sheeran made news on this site.
Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Ed Sheeran – “The Rest of Our Life” (2017)
Jasmine Rae – When I Found You (2015)
YouTube user ThePermuted uploaded a version with them mixed on top of each other.
The complaint was filed on Wednesday in New York federal court by Sean Carey and Beau Golden, two Australians who say the McGraw/Hill track is “blatant copying” of their own 2014 song, “When I Found You.”
“The copying is, in many instances, verbatim, note-for-note copying of original elements of the Song, and is obvious to the ordinary observer,” states the complaint.
Richard Busch, who successfully won a trial for the family of Marvin Gaye in the “Blurred Lines” lawsuit, is representing the plaintiff. The Nashville-based attorney previously took on Sheeran in a $20 million copyright lawsuit over another hit, “Photograph.” That case ended in a settlement that resulted in two suing songwriters being added to credits and gaining a significant share of royalties.
Now, with song theft allegations continuing to draw great attention (see the fuss this week over how the publisher of Radiohead’s “Creep” is making legal demands over Lana Del Rey’s “Get Free”), three music superstars along with co-writers Johnny McDaid and Amy Wadge as well as music industry giants Sony/ATV, Universal Polygram, WB Music plus others must respond to new charges of ripping off material. In this case, it’s alleged that the copying was fully known by employees of Sony Music.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/ed-sheeran-penned-song-tim-mcgraw-is-target-copyright-lawsuit-1073696
You can download a PDF of the official New York District Court filing here which includes some notated examples like this:
See Also
Ed Sheeran being sued for “Thinking Out Loud”
Ed Sheeran Being Sued $20M for Photograph
Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran vs. Elvis Presley
Ed Sheeran vs. Yacht vs. The Rolling Stones
Marvin Gaye family awarded $7.4M in Blurred Lines Trial
