LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that his hit single "Photograph" is a "note for note" copy of a song "Amazing" written for X Factor winner Matt Cardle.
According to the Los Angeles Times, veteran songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard are seeking $20 million in damages that they claim to have suffered for the alleged copyright infringment.
The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, claims that the bulk of the chorus in Sheeran's song was lifted directly from "Amazing." The filing includes a detailed analysis of 39 notes in Sheeran's song that they claim are identical or substantially similar to their own composition. They also claim that the chord progressions in the chorus, with one exception, are also identical.
The two songwriters have retained Richard Busch — the man who successfully won the controversial "Blurred Lines" trial for Marvin Gaye's estate — as their legal representation.
Cardle’s version of “Amazing” has been streamed more than 1 million times on YouTube since it was posted in 2012, while Sheeran’s song has been viewed more than 20o million times since it was released last year. – Staff Writers
