Ed Sheeran Says He Felt Like a 'Piggy Bank' amid 'Thinking Out Loud' Copyright Lawsuits

Ed Sheeran couldn’t help but feel exploited after his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” prompted multiple copyright infringement lawsuits.

Speaking with TIME in a cover story for its TIME100 List on Wednesday, April 16, the “Shivers” singer reflected on the years-long saga — prompted by his song’s similarities to the 1973 Marvin Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On” — and the ways in which it affected him.

For a while, Sheeran, 34, felt like other songwriters were treating him like a “piggy bank, where people can just shake it,” he said.

Once they legal proceedings were over, “everyone’s left me the f— alone — and the freedom really just lifted a weight.”

In November 2024, Sheeran persuaded the court to uphold their decision in a copyright appeal case, arguing that he did not infringe the copyright of Gaye‘s sensual hit.

Per Billboard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said that the pair of songs share only “fundamental musical building blocks” that cannot be owned by any individual songwriter.

The infringement lawsuit was filed by Structured Asset Sales, a company that owns a small stake in the rights to Gaye’s hit. Sheeran was accused of copying a chord progression and rhythm from “Let’s Get It On.”

Since “Thinking Out Loud” was released in 2014, Sheeran has faced several lawsuits involving the hit song. He was initially sued in 2017 by the heirs of the late songwriter Ed Townsend, who wrote the soul hit that was later recorded by Gaye. Kathryn Griffin Townsend, his daughter and only living direct heir, was the plaintiff leading the civil trial.

The case ended in May 2023, when Sheeran was not found liable.

“I feel like the truth was heard and the truth was believed,” the “Shape of You” hitmaker exclusively told PEOPLE following the decision at the time. “It’s nice that we can both move on with our lives now — it’s sad that it had to come to this.”

Around November 2024, another lawsuit was filed by SAS that sought to find infringement in the recording of “Let’s Get It On” instead of the written music. However, it was put on hold as the earlier lawsuit was being decided.

Sheeran’s attorney Donald Zakarin told PEOPLE that he and his clients were “gratified” by the court’s decision.

“This ruling is consistent with the jury’s rejection of any claim of infringement in the [earlier] case, finding that Ed and [song co-writer] Amy [Wadge] independently created ‘Thinking Out Loud,’” he said.