Ed Sheeran sued for $20M lawsuit over Me Before You soundtrack released by X Factor winner Matt Cardle

Ed Sheeran is being sued for $20million (£13.7M) over copyright that is 'note-for-note copy' and the attorney in the case just won the Marvin Gaye lawsuit over infringement on Blurred Lines.

The British musician, 25, has been accused of making a 'note-for-note copy' of a Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard song called Amazing, released by X Factor winner Matt Cardle six years ago.

Ed's song Photograph came out in 2014 as part of the No. 2 album Multiply and has most recently been used in the soundtrack for big screen romance Me Before You.

Harrington and Leonard, along with HaloSongs, can be seen to bring an action against Ed and co-writer Johnny McDaid, from Snow Patrol. They are specifically accused of, 'participating in a scheme aiding, inducing, and contributing to copyright infringement in the U.S.'

According to the plaintiffs, Photograph - among others on the album - 'copied, and exploited, without authorization or credit, the work of other active, professional songwriters, on a breathtaking scale, unabashedly taking credit for the work of these songwriters by claiming it to be their own.'

Harrington and Leonard therefore believe that their song has been copied by Sheeran. It was originally released by Matt, who won British TV talent competition The X Factor in 2010, though Amazing charted at No84 in UK.

Though the singer is not involved in the lawsuit, Harrington and Leonard have called in representation from Richard Busch, the attorney who won $7million (£4.8M) on behalf of Marvin Gaye’s family against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams in March 2015.

In this case, the plaintiffs take issue with 39 notes in the chorus that share 'pitch, rhythmic duration, and placement in the measure.' There is also 'similarity of words, vocal style, vocal melody, melody, and rhythm are clear indicators, among other things, that Photograph copies Amazing.'