'Bowie Bonds' creator sues Ed Sheeran for copying Marvin Gaye hit

The lawsuit was filed by a company owned by David Pullman, an investment banker who in 1997 arranged the pioneering $55million (all figures US) sale of "Bowie Bonds," which made David Bowie the firstmusician to sell bonds backed by royalties from his catalog.

According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court,Thinking Out Loud,which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot100 in February 2015, copies the "melody, rhythms, harmonies, drums, bass line, backing chorus, tempo, syncopation andlooping" of Let's Get It On,which hit No. 1 in September1973.

Other defendants include Sony/ATV Music Publishing and theAtlantic record label.

Representatives for Sheeran and Atlantic did not immediatelyrespond to requests for comment. Sony/ATV spokesman PaulWilliams declined to comment.

Past copyright infringement suits

Those defendants have denied any infringement in a relatedlawsuit filed by heirs of the late producer Ed Townsend, whoco-wrote Let's Get It Onwith Gaye. Pullman's company,Structured Asset Sales LLC, owns one-third of Townsend's estate.

Sheeran, 27, has faced infringement claims over other songs,including Photographand Shape of You.

Gayedied in 1984, when he was fatally shot by his father at age 44.

In March 21, a U.S. federal appeals court upheld a $5.3 million judgment for Gaye's family against Robin Thicke and PharrellWilliams for copying from another of his songs, 1977's Got toGive It Up,for their 2013 smash Blurred Lines.

Pullman, 56, invests in music, entertainment and otherintellectual property assets, and securitizes some of them.

In an interview, Pullman said people interviewed for newscoverage about Blurred Linesnoted similarities between Let'sGet It Onand Thinking Out Loud.

He said three musicologists compared the songs independentlyand found them "substantially or strikingly similar," a legalstandard used to determine infringement.

"We wanted to do everything right in terms of the detail,"he said.

Other recording artists to face copyright claims in recentyears have included Miley Cyrus, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, LedZeppelin and Madonna.

While many cases are settled or dismissed, Pullman saidartists should not wait until after their songs become hits toget necessary permissions.

"It's sort of 'catch-me-if-you-can,' after the fact," hesaid.