Did you hear the latest news in the music world? There’s a copyright lawsuit happening with Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Thinking Out Loud” (2014). It’s just another one to add to the pile of music cases that have been happening for over 200 years. Yes, you heard that right, 200 years! In fact, there was a case back in 1844 when a judge in New York had to deal with some unauthorized song reproductions. Seems like we humans have been arguing over musical theft for quite some time now.

Ed Sheeran is facing some pretty hefty consequences with this lawsuit. He’s being accused of copying parts from Marvin Gaye’s song “Let’s Get It On” (1973). Yikes! Gaye’s co-writer, Ed Townsend’s family filed the lawsuit in 2017. If Sheeran is found guilty, he could be coughing up quite a few million dollars. So, let’s hope he’s lawyered up.

We want to give you a rundown of some of the most impactful copyright cases that have happened over the years. Don’t you just love hearing people argue over chords, lyrics, and melodies on paper? Trust us, it’ll make you laugh.

But wait, hold the phone! Comparing recordings can be misleading sometimes. We want to make sure you know that. When it comes to these cases, the only concern is the underlying compositions of the songs. You know, the parts that can be written down on sheet music. Things like the tempo or specific sounds captured in a particular performance are irrelevant. Just in case you weren’t sure.

Judges have to decide whether one song copies another and even if the original song was distinctive enough to have copyright protection. We bet they never thought they’d be dealing with this kind of stuff when they went to law school.

You might be thinking, “Wait, what’s the right question to ask in these cases?” Good question! The answer according to Joe Bennett, a professor at the Berklee College of Music, is not just how similar are the songs but how original is the first song. So, the real question should be: how original is song A? Got it? Great, now you can be a music detective.

Grab your headphones and listen up. Here are some of the most noteworthy copyright cases with some song snippets. Don’t worry, we promise not to call you out if you can’t differentiate between the songs. We won’t judge you… much.

Let’s look back in time to 1976, the year of the bell-bottoms and disco music. A case took place between Bright Tunes Music and Harrisongs Music over the song “My Sweet Lord.” This song by George Harrison was alleged to be too similar to the song “He’s So Fine” by the Chiffons. Give it a listen and see what you think!

Serious News: nytimes