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Ed Sheeran faces long wait for court decision

An 11-day trial over the copyright of Ed Sheeran’s hit song Shape of You has concluded in London, with the judge saying he will take some time to consider his ruling.

The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, deny accusations the 2017 hit copies part of a 2015 song called Oh Why by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch.

Lawyer Andrew Sutcliffe, representing the Oh Why co-writers, argued there was an “indisputable similarity between the works” and suggested the chances of two songs that “correlate” appearing within months of each other was “minutely small”.

The lawyer claimed Sheeran had Oh Why “consciously or unconsciously in his head” when Shape of You was written in 2016.

He also alleged that Sheeran, who attended the hearing throughout, was dishonest and evasive in giving evidence to the trial.

Sheeran and his co-writers said they had disclosed material to the trial and did not remember hearing Oh Why before the court case.

Justice Antony Zacaroli said on Tuesday he would deliver his judgment “as soon as I can”.

Shape of You was the biggest selling song in Australia and Britain in 2017.

Sheeran last week announced he will tour Australia in February and March 2023.

Topics: Ed Sheeran
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