Contact Us

Singer Sheeran wins copyright case over "Shape Of You" hit

Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran has won a U.K. copyright battle over the 2017 hit “Shape of You.’’ The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, had denied allegations that the 2017 song copied part of 2015's “Oh Why” by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch.

Reuters MAGAZINE
Published April 06,2022
Subscribe

British singer Ed Sheeran won a copyright case at the High Court in London on Wednesday over whether a refrain in his 2017 mega hit "Shape Of You" had been lifted from another artist.

Grime artist Sami Chokri, who performs as Sami Switch, and music producer Ross O'Donoghue, had argued "Shape of You" had infringed "particular lines and phrases" from their 2015 song "Oh Why".

"While there are similarities between the OW (Oh Why) Hook and the OI (Oh I) Phrase, there are also significant differences," the judge concluded. "I am satisfied that Mr Sheeran did not subconsciously copy Oh Why in creating Shape."