The heirs of songwriter Ed Townsend have sued Sheeran in New York federal court for copyright infringement of the 1973 soul hit "Let's Get It On." Townsend and Marvin Gaye co-wrote the song.
"The Defendants copied the 'heart' of 'Let's' and repeated it continuously throughout 'Thinking,'" the lawsuit claims. It alleges there are "melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic compositions" in the two songs that are "substantially and/or strikingly similar."
Gaye died in 1984 and Townsend died in 2003.
