Ed Sheeran is a ‘magpie’ who ‘borrows’ ideas, copyright trial hears

Legal proceedings began in May 2018, with Sheeran and his co-writers asking the high court to declare they had not infringed Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue’s copyright. Photograph: Kate Green/Getty Images

Ed Sheeran has been accused of being a “magpie” who allegedly “borrows” ideas from other artists for his songs on the first day of a three-week copyright trial over his hit single Shape Of You.

Sheeran, 31, appeared at the high court on Friday for the dispute with two musicians who claim Shape Of You – the UK’s bestselling song of 2017 and the most streamed song in Spotify’s history – plagiarises parts of their earlier song Oh Why.