Partner Simon Goodbody comments in Creative Industries News on the recent successful Ed Sheeran ruling

Partner Simon Goodbody comments on the recent landmark win in Ed Sheeran & Ors vs Sami Chokri & Ors and the marker it sets for those looking to use such claims to extract settlements.

Simon’s comments were published in Creative Industries News, 12 April 2022, and can be found here.

British songwriter and performer Ed Sheeran, alongside his collaborators Johnny McDaid and Steve McCutcheon (known as Steve Mac), and their publishing companies (Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Rokstone Music Ltd, and Polar Patrol Music Ltd), have expressed their relief and their delight after a High Court in London gave them a win in the copyright infringement case related to the song ‘Shape Of You’.

Simon Goodbody commented: “The judgment in this case is an important victory for songwriters and publishers in the UK who have become all too familiar with litigation being used as a tool to extract settlement payments, irrespective of the merits of the underlying claims. The Blurred Lines decision in the US had a ripple effect across the pond. It created the impression that there was a very low bar to get over in order to make good a claim of copyright infringement. The decision in Sheeran v Chokri has shown that is not the case. The judgment should act as an incentive for rightsholders to take a firm stance in response to ‘nuisance value’ claims.”