Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ is ‘coincidentally similar’ to the song he is accused of copying, music expert says
Ed Sheeran’s hit song “Shape Of You” has “distinctive differences” to the track he is accused of copying, a music expert has told the court during Sheeran’s copyright trial.
The singer is accused by Sam Chokri of lifting a refrain from his 2015 single “Oh Why”. Sheeran denies all accusations that he had heard Chokri’s song prior to co-writing 2017’s “Shape Of You” with Steve Mac and Johnny McDaid.
American forensic musicologist Anthony Ricigliano concluded in a report that it was “objectively unlikely” that any similarities between the two songs are the “result from copying”.
Ricigliano gave evidence over his analysis of the two songs at an ongoing High Court trial in London on Wednesday (16 March).
Chokri and his co-writer Ross O’Donoghue claim that a central hook in “Shape Of You” is “strikingly similar” to a refrain in their own composition.
Lawyers for Chokri and O’Donoghue allege that when the two songs’ melodies are transposed into the same key “the progression of notes is the same”.
They also claim that the rhythm of the tracks’ melodies are “almost identical” and that their use of instrumentation “creates a strikingly similar sound and texture”.
Ricigliano – who was instructed by the “Shape Of You” co-writers’ lawyers, but told the court he was “completely impartial” – said that the extent of the alleged similarities between the two songs is “overstated”.
He wrote that “the overall design and musical development of the melodic, harmonic and lyrical content in the relevant phrase in ‘Shape Of You’ are distinctively different from that utilised in ‘Oh Why’”.
Ricigliano continued: “Such similarities as there are, when placed in context, in my view lack significance in relation to the allegation of copying from ‘Oh Why’.
“They are commonplace forms of expression, both in terms of use by other writers and by Sheeran himself. My view is therefore that it is objectively unlikely that any similarities result from copying.”
Sheeran has argued in his written evidence that the hook in question uses “a basic minor pentatonic pattern” which is “entirely commonplace”.
In his report, Ricigliano paraphrased a quote from composer Leonard Bernstein, stating: “The pentatonic scale is humanity’s favourite scale and is so well known that one can find examples of it from all corners of the earth.”
In court, Andrew Sutcliffe QC – who represents Chokri and O’Donoghue – asked the expert: “You accept don’t you Mr Ricigliano that despite all your research you have not found any examples in any corner of the earth over the past 200 years which sound phonetically the same as the chorus in ‘Oh Why’ and the post chorus in ‘Shape Of You’.”
“That’s correct,” Ricigliano replied.
“Do you not find this extraordinary?” Sutcliffe asked, with the expert responding: “No”.
The barrister described the two song phrases as appearing “within months of each other” and suggested they sound “almost the same”.
“I would disagree with the characterisation,” Ricigliano said, adding that the two are “coincidentally similar” and there are “distinctive differences”.
Another music expert, Christian Siddell – who was instructed by Chokri and O’Donoghue’s lawyers – is due to give evidence on Wednesday afternoon (16 March).
The three “Shape Of You” co-authors – Sheeran, Snow Patrol’s John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon – launched legal proceedings in May 201, asking the High Court to declare that they had not infringed Chokri and O’Donoghue’s copyright.
In July 2018, Chokri and O’Donoghue issued their own claim for “copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement”.
Additional reporting by Press Association
