Ed Sheeran appears to have caught a break.
On Monday, June 16, the Supreme Court rejected a bid to revive a copyright lawsuit alleging the pop star copied Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On” in his 2014 track “Thinking Out Loud” in what has been a decade-long legal battle, per Reuters.
According to the outlet, judges declined to hear the appeal of a judge’s ruling — which was filed by Structured Asset Sales and has held a copyright interest in Gaye’s song — to dismiss the case.
Structured Asset Sales, which is owned by investment banker David Pullman, sued Sheeran, 34, his record label Warner Music and music publisher Sony Music Publishing , asking for monetary damages over claims there were similarities between the pair of tracks, per the publication.
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Structured Asset Sales owns a small stake in the rights to Gaye’s hit that previously belonged to his collaborator Ed Townsend, who worked with him on “Let’s Get It On.”
In a statement to the BBC on Tuesday, June 17, “Thinking Out Loud” co-writer Amy Wadge said the ruling was “a huge relief.”
“It’s been rolling news under my life for 10 years but, yes, it’s done,” she told the outlet.
Of “Thinking Out Loud,” which was released in 2014 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015,” Wadge said: “The absolute truth is that song changed my life. I didn’t have a hit until I was 37 and that was the one. I was able to feel like I’d had a hit for a year and then all of a sudden it felt like the wolves were surrounding.”
“It was incredibly frightening,” she added.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Pullman said that “the second federal case pending that was stayed and has both the sound recording as the deposit copy as of the date of creation and the handwritten sheet music will now go forward in federal court in New York.”
He added: “Defendants fear has always been the sound recording of ‘Let’s Get It On.’ The U.S. Supreme Court was aware of this and understands that the case will go forward and may very well be back at the U.S. Supreme Court at a later date.”
Reps for Sheeran have not yet responded to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
In November 2024, a federal appeals court judge ruled that Sheeran did not infringe the copyright to Gaye’s song with “Thinking Out Loud. Reuters was the first to report the ruling at the time.
Per Billboard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that the two tracks shared only “fundamental musical building blocks” that cannot be owned by any one songwriter and rejected an infringement lawsuit filed by Structured Asset Sales.
In the case, Structured Asset Sales claimed that Sheeran copied a chord progression and rhythm from Gaye’s song, however, the appeals court said the lawsuit was arguing “a monopoly over a combination of two fundamental musical building blocks.”
The appeals court also ruled that Sheeran and Gaye’s songs were not identical enough to be copyright infringement, per Billboard.
Sheeran has faced several lawsuits since “Thinking Out Loud’s release in 2014.
In 2017, he was initially sued by the heirs of Townsend. At the time, his daughter and only direct living heir, Kathryn Griffin Townsend, was the plaintiff leading the civil trial.
That case concluded in May 2023, and Sheeran was not found responsible.
