Ed Sheeran's royalties frozen after lawsuit and accusations of 'stealing' music

Ed Sheeran is locked in another legal battle and facing more allegations that he is guilty of 'stealing' other people's music for his own songs.

The British pop mega star is already being sued in a case involving a Marvin Gaye track, but now an unknown musician has taken aim at his wider song writing process.

The Daily Mail reports that Sam Chokri has taken Sheeran to court alleging he is "consciously or subconsciously in the habit of appropriating the compositional skill and labour of other songwriters".

Chokri has taken particular issue with Sheeran's 2017 number one hit Shape of You, claiming it borrows the chorus from his own 2015 song Oh Why. He also believes Sheeran's catalogue includes "stolen" parts of music recorded by artists such as TLC, Shaggy and American country singer Jasmine Rae.

The lawsuit has put the brakes on any royalty payments pending a court decision on the case, but Sheeran has since filed a counter suit of his own, looking to recoup any lost profits and seeking compensation for damages to his reputation.

The new case comes after Sheeran was sued by Ed Townsend, the co-writer of Gaye's 1973 song Let's Get It On, who says Sheeran used the same "harmonic progressions and rhythmic elements" in his 2014 track Thinking Out Loud.

The case was expected to be resolved by a jury next month but has been postponed possibly until next year.

The Daily Mail report the delay comes as the judge, Louis Staton, awaits the outcome of a similar dispute that has seen Led Zeppelin sued for using Californian band Spirit's 1968 track Taurus in their iconic 1971 song Stairway To Heaven.

Sheeran was also sued in 2017 over his song Photograph, which cost him $20 million to settle.

The 28-year-old has come under further fire in recent days with rapper Wiley labelling Sheeran a "culture vulture" for borrowing from the grime scene to increase his popularity.

But Sheeran found an ally in Stormzy, with the rapper responding to Wiley on Twitter, in defence of his friend.

"Wiley you know Ed been doing this from early, been a real one from early, can't question that, you know I love you and respect you brother but nah don't do that [sic]."

Wiley remained defiant however, using the laughing emoji in another tweet in which he asked: "'Shall I get my guitar and foot pedal out?" in a clear stab at Sheeran's live performances.

Wiley, who previously worked together with Sheeran in 2011, added: "Anyone who uses us and our sounds are culture vultures... I'm getting my guitar and foot pedal out and I don't wanna hear nobody moaning about nothing [sic]."

- Additional reporting by The Daily Mail