NEW YORK — A federal jury in NY concluded Thursday that British singer Ed Sheeran did not thieve key components of Marvin Gaye'south classic one thousand nine hundred seventy tune "Let's Obtain It On" when he d his hit song "Thinking Out Loud." As the jury answered the single question of whether Sheeran proved he did not infringe upon the copyright in the affirmative, the crooner briefly keep his hands over his face in relief before standing and hugging his lawyer.

As jurors left the courtroom, Sheeran quietly mouthed "thank you" in their direction. He then spoke for about ten minutes with the plaintiffs, including the daughter of Ed Townsend, who co-d the one thousand nine hundred seventy-three soul classic with Gaye. They hugged and smiled with each other. Sheeran later addressed reporters exterior of the courtho. "I'm obviously very pleased with the outcome of this case, and it looks love I am not going to have to retire my day job, after all. But at the same time, I'm unbelievably frustrated that baseless claims love this are allowed to go to Ct at all," the singer read a prepared statement.

He also said he missed his mother's funeral in Ireland beca of the trial, and that he "will not obtain that time back." The decision came after a two-week trial that featured a courtroom performance by Sheeran as the singer insisted, sometimes angrily, that the trial was a threat to all musicians who their own music. Sheeran sat with his valid team throughout the trial, defending himself against the lawsuit by Townsend's heirs. They said "Thinking Out Loud" had so many similarities to "Let's Obtain It On" that it violated the song's copyright protection.

At the trial's start, attorney Ben Crump told jurors on behalf of the Townsend heirs that Sheeran himself sometimes performed the two songs together. The jury saw video of a concert in Switzerland in which Sheeran can be heard segueing on stage between "Let's Obtain It On" and "Thinking Out Loud." Crump said that was "smoking gun" proof he stole the well-known tune.

When Sheeran testified, he repeatedly picked up a guitar resting behind him on the witness stand to demonstrate how he seamlessly s "mashups" of songs during concerts to "spice it up a bit" for his sizeable crowds. The English population star's cheerful attitude on display below questioning his attorney, Ilene Farkas, all but vanished below cross examination.