Ed Sheeran Is Being Sued For Allegedly Ripping Off "Photograph" From An "X-Factor" Winner

Is it too late to say sorry? Oh, wait, wrong lawsuit.

Nice guy Ed Sheeran is the latest musical artist to find himself at the centre of plagiarism claims, following in the footsteps of famously-lovable gents Justin Bieber, Led Zeppelin and Robin Thicke. Welcome to the club?

The song in question is Sheeran’s 2015 megahit “Photograph”, which songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard believe rips off their tune “Amazing”, released as a single by X Factor winner Matt Cardle several years prior.

Do they want an apology? Probably. But they’d prefer $20 million, as per their new lawsuit, which accuses Sheeran of “verbatim, note-for-note copying”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The lawsuit has been filed by the same attorney who represented Marvin Gaye’s family in the suit against “Blurred Lines” maestros Robin Thicke and Pharrell. That case ended with a $US5.3 million ruling in favour of the Gaye family.

A California federal court will now consider Harrington and Leonard’s case against “Photograph”. However, you can make a ruling yourself by listening to the two tracks below. That’s certainly what’s going on over at every social media channel you can think of. Trial by Twitter! Trial by Twitter!

Photo: YouTube / Ed Sheeran.