After a US jury determined that British pop star Ed Sheeran did not plagiarize Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" when writing his hit "Thinking Out Loud," the singer-songwriter expressed both relief and frustration at having to defend his creative freedom in court.

Following the Manhattan federal courtroom decision, Sheeran told reporters that he was "very happy" but also irritated that unfounded claims like this one could reach trial. Ed Townsend's heirs filed the lawsuit, alleging that Sheeran's song incorporated harmonic progressions and rhythmic elements from Gaye's classic without permission.

Sheeran emphasized the importance of the ruling for songwriters' creative freedom, saying, "It is devastating and also insulting to be accused of stealing other people's songs when we put so much into our livelihoods. I am just a guy with a guitar who loves writing music for people to enjoy."

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours on whether the two songs were substantially similar and if their shared elements were protected by copyright law.

Sheeran testified with his guitar, demonstrating that the chord progression in question is a fundamental aspect of pop music not subject to ownership. He explained that he writes most of his songs in a day and co-wrote "Thinking Out Loud" with singer-songwriter Amy Wadge, a frequent collaborator.

A defense-retained musicologist told the court that the four-chord sequence had appeared in numerous songs before Gaye's 1973 hit. Sheeran asserted, "These chords are common building blocks. They are a songwriter's 'alphabet', our toolkit. No one owns them, or the way they are played, in the same way nobody owns the color blue."

The copyright lawsuit garnered attention from industry insiders, who feared it could stifle songwriters' creativity and lead to more litigation. Sheeran had already faced a similar trial last year in London over his song "Shape Of You," which also ended in his favor.

The case follows other high-profile music copyright lawsuits, including the successful case against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams by Gaye's family over "Blurred Lines," and Led Zeppelin's victory in a case focused on "Stairway to Heaven."

Vanderbilt University law professor Joseph Fishman hopes that Sheeran's win will reassure songwriters and publishers, while forensic musicologist Joe Bennett from the Berklee College of Music expressed delight that "sanity prevailed" in the case, hoping it will discourage future baseless claims.