Ed Sheeran faces copyright trial over Marvin Gaye plagiarism claims

Ed Sheeran has been ordered to stand trial in the US over a claim his 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud copied Marvin Gaye’s classic Let’s Get It On.

Structured Asset Sales, an entity that owns a partial stake in the late American singer’s anthem, is looking for £90million in damages.

Lawyers claim Sheeran lifted a chord progression and the harmonic rhythm of Let’s Get It On for Thinking Out Loud, which became a setlist staple from his second album X.

The dispute has been rumbling on for several years and Mr Sheeran’s legal team previously sought to have the claim thrown out of court.

Central to the Suffolk singer-songwriter’s argument is that the alleged copied parts of the 1973 track are “commonplace”, meaning it would be impossible to prove the elements could be traced back specifically.