Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac have emerged victorious in the 10-day trial that accused them of copying a song by grime artist Sami Chokri for “Shape of You.” In a video on Instagram, Sheeran hit out at “baseless claims.”
A judge ruled today that the 2017 hit “Shape of You” had “neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied” Chokri’s “Oh Why,” which was self-released in 2015 under his artist name Sami Switch.
In the lawsuit, Chokri claimed that a hook in Sheeran’s hit was strikingly similar to a refrain in his own. While acknowledging similarities between the phrase in question, judge Antony Zacaroli said that’s only a “starting point” for a possible infringement of copyright and differences in other parts of the songs provide “compelling evidence” that Sheeran didn’t copy Chokri.
