Multi-millionaire singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran's successful legal defense against musical plagiarism allegations surrounding hit song 'Shape of You' has re-opened the thorny issue of copyright violation.

Sheeran, thought to be worth at least $250 million, was unsuccessfully sued by grime artist Sami Chokri, who performs as Sami Switch, and music producer Ross O'Donoghue, who had argued the song's main hook was copied from their 2015 song 'Oh Why.'

Following this week's victory at London's High Court, Sheeran said spurious copyright claims against songwriters are damaging the music industry. "Claims like this are way too common now and it has become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court even if there's no basis for the claim," he said in a video posted on Twitter.

So, what is music plagiarism, how prevalent is it, and does Sheeran have a point?

Plagiarism is the legal term for presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. It can apply to all published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, and may be deliberate, reckless, or even unintentional.

Canada-based entertainment lawyer Kurt Dahl told CGTN Europe the issue is complex. "The courts want to know 'is there substantial similarity?' But it's a legal term without a clear, concise, definition. What often happens in these cases is people called musicologists are hired to break down each song in a very scientific maNNer. They look at chord structure, lyrics, melody, even the tempo, the type of drumbeats, all that sort of thing, and see what similarities there are. 

"Sometimes these cases go to a jury, if both sides want that. Then it's sort of like the smell test. If you play two songs side by side to someone that knows nothing about the music industry, that gives you a great sense of whether the songs are similar." 

Some have suggested that the limited number of chord sequences available in pop music could make writing a song a potential minefield, particularly when cases of plagiarism have been brought over musical phrases lasting a mere handful of notes.

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English rock legend Wilko Johnson has been writing songs for almost half a century. The original songwriter for Dr Feelgood, Johnson enjoyed late-career success when his 2014 collaborative album with Roger Daltrey, 'Going Back Home', became the second highest-selling UK album of that year.

Johnson told CGTN Europe that blatant plagiarism in pop music is easy to spot.

"We can all tell if something is plagiarized because pop music itself is so simple. A hit pop single may rely on one phrase, and if a record is successful other people are going to try and repeat that and do something similar, but sometimes they might sway too close to the original. Obviously if you plagiarise a well-known song people are going to notice and there will be action taken by the publishers."

The singer, who overcame a terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis a decade ago having undergone pioneering surgery, continues to tour at the age of 74. He insists he has never crossed the line in his own compositions. "Often you're writing songs and there's a song you particularly dig, it has some special magic for you. So you might try and write something that does that. I've certainly done that, I think, but not to the extent of copying a melody or a lyric."

Johnson has occasionally fallen victim to plagiarism of his own work but has never resorted to legal action. "Many years ago another band put out a live album containing a song that was a note-for-note lift, including the harmonica solo, of Dr Feelgood's '20 Yards Behind.' It was a bit sickening because most of the rest of the record was cover versions, all appropriately accredited. In the end I told the publishers and the band agreed not to do it again."

Dahl worries that the music industry, particularly in the U.S, is becoming increasingly litigious. "I think some of these cases are absolute garbage, totally frivolous. In some cases the artist bringing the case is doing it to get exposure. Or, as Ed Sheeran suggested, sometimes it could be just a money grab, where the party bringing the claim thinks that because it's a pain in the butt to take this to court, maybe the artist being accused might just settle."

He believes there's a danger that if too many of these cases succeed, it could hinder the song-writing process.

"Copyright protection is a pendulum that's always swinging," said Dahl. "Ed's point is that this is going to ruin the music industry to some extent. In the same breath, that exact copyright is what protects his songs from being infringed. You want protection, but not so much that it hinders creativity." 

There have been many famous music plagiarism cases to play out in the courts. Here are some of them:

My Sweet Lord by George Harrison – The former Beatle's 1970 single topped the charts in 15 countries. Legal action was taken by Bright Tunes Music Corporation alleging copyright infringement of the late Ronnie Mack song 'He's So Fine.' Proceedings continued until 1976 when it was ruled that Harrison had subconsciously copied the song and was ordered to pay damages. 

Blurred Lines by Pharrel Williams and Robin Thicke – A 2018 court ruling found that the song, already controversial for explicit lyrical content, had infringed the copyright of 'Got To Give It Up' by the late Marvin Gaye, whose family were awarded $5.3 million in damages.

Shakermaker by Oasis – a huge hit on their 1994 debut album, the band ended up paying a reported $500,000 damages after using the melody from The New Seekers' 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.'

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin – Forty-five years after releasing what is regarded as one of the most iconic rock songs of all time, Led Zeppelin prevailed in a copyright battle against the estate of Randy Wolfe, which claimed they had ripped off 'Taurus,' the song Wolfe wrote for his band Spirit.

Dark Horse by Katy Perry – This March a US federal appeals court ruled that Perry and her fellow songwriters were not liable to hip-hop artist Flame, who claimed they copied a musical pattern from his song 'Joyful Noise.'

Land Down Under -  it was a hit song across the world for Australian band Men at Work but in 2010 they lost a case that claimed its signature flute solo plagiarised another famous Aussie tune - Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree -  composed by Marion Sinclair in 1934 for a Girl Guide jamboree.