Ed Sheeran sued for $20m over 'Photograph'

Grammy winner Ed Sheeran has been sued for 20 million dollars by singers Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard over his track 'Photograph'.

Harrington and Leonard, and their publishing company HaloSongs have claimed that the 25-year-old singer's song 'Photograph' is exactly the same copy of their 2009 release 'Amazing' sung by Matt Cardle, the winner of the 2010 season of The X Factor, E! Online reports.

Attorney Richard Busch has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the duo in federal court in Los Angeles.

According to the court document, "the similarities of both the songs reach the very essence of the work. The similarities go beyond substantial, which is itself sufficient to establish copyright infringement, and are in fact striking."

"The similarity of words, vocal style, vocal melody, melody, and rhythm are clear indicators, among other things, that Photograph copies Amazing," the document states.

In an interview to the leading daily, Busch said his clients are professional songwriters, adding their work is their life and he is honored that they have shown faith in him with this important case.