Ed Sheeran's not taking another lawsuit accusing him of ripping off music without fighting back ... and he insists there's ZERO evidence he stole when he wrote a hit for Tim McGraw.
In January, Ed got sued over "The Rest of Our Life" ... the Ed-penned tune that was a huge hit last year for Tim and Faith Hill. Sean Carey and Beau Golden think Sheeran jacked their melody for a 2014 song -- "When I Found You" -- that they wrote for Jasmine Rae.
On Monday, Ed fired back with his own docs ... denying there's any similarity in the sound of the songs. He admits he never sought Carey and Golden's permission because "The Rest of Our Life" is an "originally and independently created musical composition."
He calls their claim baseless, and wants the judge to back him up ... by tossing the whole lawsuit.
The judge has yet to decide, but take a listen to the songs ... and make your own ruling.
Ed's been down this road -- back in 2016, he was sued by a co-writer of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" ... who claimed Ed's hit, "Thinking Out Loud" was a carbon copy.
That suit was eventually dismissed.