Nov 1 (Reuters) - Ed Sheeran, his record label Warner

Music ( WMG ) and music publisher Sony Music Publishing

persuaded a U.S. appeals court on Friday to uphold a decision

that his 2014 hit "Thinking Out Loud" did not illegally copy

Marvin Gaye's 1973 classic "Let's Get It On."

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed

with a lower-court judge's dismissal of a lawsuit from

Structured Asset Sales, which owns rights to the Gaye song that

previously belonged to co-writer Ed Townsend.

Structured Asset Sales' owner - investment banker David

Pullman - and one of its attorneys did not immediately respond

to a request for comment. A lawyer and spokespersons for Sheeran

and the other defendants did not immediately respond to similar

requests.

In May 2023, Sheeran defeated a separate copyright lawsuit

by Townsend's heirs, who own a separate share of his interest in

"Let's Get It On," in a closely watched jury trial.

SAS sued Sheeran in 2018. U.S. District Judge Louis

Stanton dismissed its case following the verdict in the heirs'

case.

Stanton found that the musical elements Sheeran

allegedly copied were too common to merit copyright protection.

The appeals court agreed, saying that protecting the

elements could stifle creativity, and that Sheeran's and Gaye's

songs were not similar enough for Sheeran's to have infringed on

SAS' copyright.

It also rejected the argument that Stanton should have

reviewed Gaye's actual recording, which according to Pullman

included key elements that Sheeran copied, rather than focus on

the song's sheet music deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office.

SAS has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on

its rights in Gaye's recording. That case is currently on hold.