Ed Sheeran and his co-composers have received more than £ 900,000 in legal costs after winning their high court copyright lawsuit for their successful Shape of You earlier this year.
At a trial in March, Snow Patrol singer and co-writer John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon faced charges that his song ripped off a 2015 song by Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue.
However, Judge Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor unconsciously” copied a sentence from the song.
Sheeran, his co-authors and music companies originally initiated legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the higher court to declare that they had not infringed the copyright of Chokri and O’Donoghue.
Two months later, Chokri, a grime artist acting under the name Sami Switch, and O’Donoghue filed their own claim for “copyright infringement, damages and a profit account in connection with the alleged infringement “.
The couple had alleged that a “oh me” hook on Shape Of You was “surprisingly similar” to an “oh why” on their own track.
But in his previous judgment, Zacaroli concluded that “Mr. Sheeran had not heard Oh Why and in any case did not deliberately copy the phrase ‘oh me’ from the hook ‘oh why’.”
He dismissed the counterclaim and granted a statement to Sheeran and his fellow composers that Oh Why had not infringed copyright.
Following the sentencing, Chokri and O’Donoghue’s lawyers had said Sheeran and the other plaintiffs would have to pay their own legal costs, alleging that they had not provided documents and had shown “clumsiness and opacity”.
However, in a ruling on Tuesday, Zacaroli said lesser-known composers would have to pay legal costs and ordered a provisional payment of £ 916,200.
A new hearing is scheduled to evaluate and finalize the sums.
“I consider it appropriate that the success of the plaintiffs be reflected in an order that their costs be paid by the defendants, without reduction, except that which is done in the detailed assessment process,” Zacaroli said.
The judge dismissed the arguments that the defendants would have changed their approach to the case if some documents and explanations had previously been provided on how Shape of You was written.
Zacaroli said: “None of the revelations or explanations, once provided to the defendants, caused them to change their approach at all.
“On the other hand, they not only maintained their attack on Mr. Sheeran, but have expanded it by claiming that he was a ‘magpie’ who usually misappropriates song ideas from other writers.”
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During the 11-day trial in central London, Sheeran denied “borrowing” ideas from unrecognized unknown authors and insisted that he “always tried to be completely fair” in accrediting the people who contributed. on their albums.
In a video message after the April ruling, Sheeran said: “Claims like this are all too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made that an agreement will be cheaper than bringing. -it’s in court, even if there isn’t a basis for the claim, and it’s really detrimental to the songwriting industry.
“The lawsuits are not a pleasant experience and I hope with this ruling that unfounded claims like this can be avoided in the future. That really has to end.”