an appeals court victory over its megahit “Stairway to Heaven,” and the judges provided guidance about how copyright applies to works involving “commonplace elements.”
At times, Mr. Sheeran, who has faced litigation stemming from accusations of copying twice before, grew vexed and combative at the stand. He insisted that he did not borrow from “Let’s Get It On,” and, playing an acoustic guitar in the witness box, he showed that the chord progression at the core of both tunes, while similar, was not identical.
A quirk of copyright law governed how the jury could hear the two songs. The case involved only the compositions underlying both tracks — the lyrics, melodies and chords that can be notated on paper — and not their recordings. For older songs like “Let’s Get It On,” copyright is limited to the sheet music, or “deposit copy,” that was originally submitted to the United States Copyright Office. On “Let’s Get It On,” that notation was skeletal.