Jury selection kicked off Monday in a lawsuit accusing Ed Sheeran of lifting parts of Marvin Gaye’s soul classic “Let’s Get it On” for his own music.

The heirs of late Ed Townsend – who co-wrote the iconic 1973 song with Gaye – claim that Sheeran should have to pay them a portion of the profits from his track “Thinking Out Loud,” which they say copies the melody and other musical elements at the “heart” of Gaye’s one-time Billboard topper.

Sheeran, 32, has denied copying the track, and claimed that if the two songs sound alike, it’s because of his use of the fundamental musical “building blocks” which don’t fall under copyright protections.

The trial – which is being held in Manhattan federal court – is expected to last for one week. The suit, filed in 2017, also names Sheeran’s label Warner Music Group and music publisher Sony Music Publishing.

The jury must determine whether the British singer-songwriter should be held liable for copyright infringement. If jurors rule against Sheeran, a second trial will be held to determine the amount of damages owed to the Townsend family.

Sheeran’s hit song – which was apart of his 2014 album “X” – won two Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance in 2016.

The “Shape of You” singer also faces two similar lawsuits by company Structured Asset Sales LLC – which owns one-third of Townsend’s rights to the song. SAS – owned by investment banker David Pullman – sued for $100 million in 2018 claiming Sheeran’s tune “copied and exploited, without authorization or credit, the ‘Let’s Get it on’ composition.'”

In April 2022, Sheeran won a London copyright lawsuit over his 2017 song “Shape of You,” in which a judge found he didn’t rip off Sami Chokri’s “Oh Why” track.

The musician settled a $20 million copyright lawsuit in 2017 over his song “Photograph” – with the songwriters being added to the credits for “Photograph.”

Townsend’s family won $5.3 million in a case over Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ song “Blurred Lines” and its similarities to Gayes’ “Got to Give It Up.”

With Post wires