By Marlene Lenthang -
NBC News
A jury in New York unanimously determined Thursday after two days of deliberations that British pop star Ed Sheeran did not steal the melody and other key components of Marvin Gaye's
soul
classic
Let's Get it On
to create his recent commercial hit
Thinking .
Out Loud
.
Sheeran stood up and hugged his lawyers as the verdict was read.
His wife Cherry Seaborn and co-writer Amy Wudge wept during the emotional reading.
In the decision, the jurors found that Sheeran independently created Thinking Out Loud, which made it unnecessary for them to make any decisions regarding the other alleged copyright infringements brought to the trial.
The trial began in Manhattan federal court on April 25 and included a small show by the 32-year-old singer, who took the stand, picked up his guitar and sang for the jury.
Ed Sheeran leaves court in Manhattan after a hearing for the trial against him.
David Dee Delgado / REUTERS
The case arose out of a lawsuit filed in 2017 by the estate of Ed Townsend, the co-writer of the Marvin Gaye songs.
They claimed Sheeran's 2014 hit
Thinking Out Loud
bore “striking similarities” and shared “visible common elements” with Gaye's 1973
copyright-protected record
Let's Get It On .
Sheeran told the court that he came up with his song, which he co-wrote with Amy Wadge, after the death of a grandfather, and said it was about finding love in old age.
At the trial, a mix of the two songs in question was shown that was done live in a video clip from a concert in Zurich.
One of Townsend's lawyers, Ben Crump, called the clip hard evidence that she was infringing copyright.
Sheeran argued when questioned that he has mixed with his other songs and said: "If it were true that I did what I am accused of, I would be an idiot to show it in front of the whole world."
Townsend's daughter, Kathryn Townsend Griffin, also took the stand, saying she had never heard of the British singer before the song "Thinking Out Loud" came out.
She said she did not want the case to go to trial, "but I have to protect my father's legacy."
