Ed Sheeran, alongside Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, are being sued for copyright infringement for their release “The Rest of Our Life.” The song came out in October of 2017, and Sheeran was credited for co-writing the piece.
Sean Carey and Beau Golden filed the complaint on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 in a New York federal court, stating that Ed Sheeran, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and a few other songwriters “blatantly copied” their track “When I Found You” from 2014.
“When I Found You” was released on ABC Records and featured co-writer and recording artist Jasmine Rae. The track was a success in Australia.
Carey and Golden also have record deals with major labels as well as music direction positions with Netflix.
The complaint goes onto state that Rae wanted Tim Holland, her boyfriend and marketing manager for Sony Music, to be involved in the songwriter process. They supposedly hopped on a conference call and then met in person.
“During this conversation, 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,” states the complaint. “When questioned by Plaintiffs as to his silence about the similarities between ‘When I Found You’ and the Infringing Song/Infringing Sound Recording, Mr. Holland stated he did not want to lose his job with Sony Music. When pressed further by Plaintiffs, Mr. Holland indicated that he had known that the songs were substantially similar for more than two months prior to the October 5, 2017 release date of the Infringing Song/Infringing Sound Recording.”
To further the theory of the success and infringement of “When I Found You,” Ed Sheeran was allegedly touring heavily in Australia during the track’s peak success.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Richard Busch, represented and won the case of “Blurred Lines” lawsuit for Marvin Gaye’s family. Busch previously took on Sheeran in a $20 million lawsuit for his song “Photograph.”
Carey and Golden are looking for injunctive relief and a minimum of $5 million in damages plus profits, perpetual royalty, and payment of attorney’s fees and costs.
The songs below are very similar. In fact, the introductions to both tracks are the same and even in the same key and time signature. McGraw, Hill, and Sheeran’s “The Rest of Our Life,” however, adds intervals and builds chords to add and “differ” the two tracks.