Ed Sheeran Asks Judge to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s ‘The Rest of Our Life’
Pop star Ed Sheeran is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit involving Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's song "The Rest of Our Life." Sheeran, who is one of the song's writers, as well as his co-writers, Amy Wadge, Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac, and McGraw and Hill are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit, which Sheeran says has no merit.
According to TMZ, Sheeran has submitted court documents denying the alleged similarities between "The Rest of Our Life" and Jasmine Rae's "When I Found You," which was written by Sean Carey and Beau Golden and became a hit in Australia. According to Sheeran's documents, "The Rest of Our Life" is an "originally and independently created musical composition," and he's asking that the judge throw out Carey and Golden's lawsuit.
Carey and Golden, both Australian songwriters, filed their original lawsuit in New York federal court on Jan. 10, claiming that "The Rest of Our Life" is a copy of "When I Found You." "The copying is, in many instances, verbatim, note-for-note copying of original elements of the Song, and is obvious to the ordinary observer," the lawsuit reads. "It very well may have been an agent of Sony Music Entertainment who provided the other defendants herein with access to the Song."
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In addition to McGraw, Hill and Sheeran and his co-writers, Carey and Golden's suit also names Sony / ATV, Universal Polygram, WB Music and more, and alleges that Sony employees knew about the copying. According to the lawsuit, Rae wanted to get her boyfriend, Tim Holland, a marketing manager for Sony, involved in what Carey and Golden perceived to be a case of song theft -- but, allegedly, when the three approached him about the potential lawsuit, "Mr. Holland admitted to knowing about the Infringing Song months in advance of its release because he was tasked with promoting and marketing the Infringing Song and Infringing Sound Recording before its release."
In their lawsuit, Carey and Golden state that they believe Holland was not only aware of the copying, but "instrumental" in sharing "When I Found You" with the defendants. And if Holland was not the one to share "When I Found You" with the defendants, the suit suggests that Sheeran heard the song while on tour in Australia when the song was popular.
Carey and Golden are seeking an injunction, at least $5 million in damages, royalties moving forward and attorney fees.
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