The song “Oh Why” by Sam Chokri is less well known. But Chokri claimed that Sheeran had copied it when composing his hugely successful track.
Put simply then, the test for copyright infringement has two parts. The first is about whether the alleged infringer has heard the piece of music they are accused of copying. After all, you can’t copy something you haven’t heard. But it is very hard to present actual evidence that someone has heard a song before, so the legal standard is set quite low.
They claimed Sheeran could have heard their song via social media, through music industry contacts, or simply through his own interest in the UK music scene. But the judge decided that despite Chokri’s “undoubted” talents, and efforts by his management team to create some hype around the 2015 release of “Oh Why,” the song had enjoyed “limited success.” As a result, the likelihood that Sheeran had heard it was not that great.
In the Sheeran case, both sides presented expert evidence from musicologists about how similar — or dissimilar — the songs were. Chokri’s side highlighted the tune, vocal phrasing, harmonies and the fact that the lyrics “Oh I” and “Oh why” were used as part of a “call and response” in both songs. The 11-day trial which led to the judgment in Sheeran’s favor would have been an expensive and stressful experience. But on the plus side, as such a high-profile case, it has helped to update the role of UK copyright law in the modern music industry.
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