Ed Sheeran has warned that pop stars should not be allowed to be "easy targets" for copyright claims after winning his court battle with the writers of a song they claimed he had plagiarised.

A High Court judge ruled that the singer had not copied part of his hit, Shape of You, from Oh Why, by Sami Chokri.

That prompted Sheeran to declare on Instagram: "I hope that this ruling means in the future baseless claims like this can be avoided.

"This really does have to end."

Ed Sheeran has slammed copyright laws following the songwriter's successful court battle. 

In his post, Sheeran says: “I’m not an entity, I’m not a corporation, I’m a human being. I’m a father, I’m a husband, I’m a son" and called for an end to unnecessary litigation.