The National Law Journal has named the Pryor Cashman team that secured a landmark trial victory on behalf of client Ed Sheeran as 2023 General Litigation Trailblazers.

Partners Ilene Farkas and Don Zakarin, Counsel Andrew Goldsmith, and Associate Brian Maida were highlighted in the NLJ's Trailblazers report, which honors litigators who provide innovative and successful service to their clients.

In May 2023, the team represented Sheeran in a high-profile copyright trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Griffin et al v. Sheeran et al, filed by the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the Marvin Gaye hit “Let's Get It On,” claiming that Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge copied elements of the 1973 song in their 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.” After reviewing the detailed testimony and arguments, the jury sided with Sheeran following 2.5 hours of deliberation.

In their Trailblazers profile, the Sheeran trial team says, “We knew that Ed Sheeran and his co-writer Amy Wadge would be great witnesses and their testimony about the creation of ‘Thinking Out Loud' would be compelling,” and notes that the win in court was both a victory for Sheeran and Wadge and for songwriters in general:

We believe that our focusing on the human story behind the creation of “Thinking Out Loud” and having Ed Sheeran demonstrate, on the witness stand, how common the elements were and how they had been used in many other songs, clearly convinced the jury not only that there was no infringement but that Ed and Amy had independently created “Thinking Out Loud.”

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After the “Blurred Lines” case, there was an increased filing of baseless copyright infringement cases. Defending against infringement claims is expensive for songwriters and publishers, even where they prevail on summary judgment or at trial, and can chill creativity. This verdict should help restore balance in music infringement cases, protecting songwriters who are and should be allowed to use commonplace musical elements in creating new musical works.

See the full NLJ General Litigation Trailblazers list using the link below (subscription may be required).

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