Ed Sheeran has won a High Court copyright battle over his 2017 hit Shape of You. He was accused of plagiarising the 2015 song Oh Why by Sami Chokri. A judge ruled this was not the case.

Roy and Tom discuss this news story and teach you some related vocabulary so you can talk about it too.

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Video chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
0:28 - Story
1:31 - Headline 1: Ed Sheeran wins Shape of You copyright case and hits out at 'baseless' claims
4:20 - Headline 2: Ed Sheeran releases statement following Shape Of You copyright lawsuit after judge rules he did not rip off Sami Chokri
7:57 - Headline 3: Ed Sheeran says he now regrets settling £14m ‘Photograph’ lawsuit in wake of ‘Shape of You’ trial win
10:23 - Language summary

Key words and phrases:
baseless
without evidence or facts

* The rumour that the boss didn’t have a degree turned out to be baseless.
* Isabella made a baseless claim that she was unfairly dismissed from her job

rip off
copy or plagiarise something

* He accused the other student of ripping off his essay.
* I can’t believe how expensive this city is. Everything is a rip-off!

in the wake of
after or because of something

* In the wake of the allegations, the CEO decided to resign.
* In the wake of the financial report, the company’s share value dropped.

To download the audio and a transcript and test your understanding, go to our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learning....english/english/cour

Cover image: Getty - Ed Sheeran arriving at court during 'Shape of You' copyright trial on March 8th, 2022.

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