For the singer Katy Perry the weekend has surely brought relief, with the resolution of a plagiarism claim that had dragged on for eight years. A California court ruled on Friday that she will not now have to pay the rapper Flame (real name Marcus Gray) £2.1m in compensation for the use of a nine-note sequence in one of her hits.
But Ed Sheeran, the Halifax-born musical superstar, is not enjoying the same relief. He remains embroiled in the defence of the latest of a string of alleged breaches of copyright. He has treated lawyers to an impromptu performance of a Nina Simone tune to make a point about the essential building blocks of a song, and will return to the High Court in London this week.
