To say that the music industry was glued to reports coming out of the Ed Sheeran copyright infringement trial, and particularly the verdict, would be an understatement, coming as it did after the “Blurred Lines” case had a very different outcome. Ilene Farkas, the lead attorney from Pryor Cashman, which handled Sheeran’s defense, says the two trials weren’t exactly comparable, but knew well that many songwriters who worry they could end up in the same shoes as Sheeran were counting on a victory for the singer-songwriter to establish some fresh precedent for having future copyright claims facing a higher burden of proof.

Farkas spoke with Variety the