Ed Sheeran Sued for Plagiarism over Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Song

Ed Sheeran has been named in a plagiarism lawsuit by the writers of a hit song recorded by Australian country music star Jasmine Rae.

The song “The Rest of Our Life”, which Sheeran co-wrote for US country artists Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, is accused of being an “almost note for note copy” of the song “When I Found You”, written by Sydney songwriters Sean Carey and Beau Golden.

Carey and Golden filed a lawsuit in New York last week accusing Sheeran and his co-writers of “willful copyright infringement”, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and say the “copying… is obvious to the ordinary observer”.

They are being represented by Richard Busch, who won the major case which saw Marvin Gaye’s family win $5.3m against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams, over similarities between their song “Blurred Lines” and Gaye’s song “Got to Give It Up”. Busch also led the $20m suit against Sheeran’s song “Photograph”, which was settled out of court.

“The Rest Of Our Life” was an international hit for McGraw and Hill in 2017. Sheeran’s co-writers Johnny McDaid, Steve Mac and Amy Wadge are also named in the suit, along with several publishers, which is seeking $5m in damages along with an injunction for the song to be permanently blocked.