Dua Lipa Secures Victory in “Levitating” Copyright Case

Dua Lipa Wins Lawsuit Over ‘Levitating’

Dua Lipa has emerged victorious in a legal challenge that accused her of copying her hit song “Levitating” from two other tracks.

• Read more: Dua Lipa: “If anyone told me not to discuss the problems that I am passionate about? I would not listen “

Details of the Case

In 2022, L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer filed a lawsuit against the pop star, asserting that Lipa had plagiarized their songs “Wiggle” and “Higgle All Night,” released in 1979 and 1980, respectively, to create “Levitating.”

“The branded melody is the most listened to and recognizable part of the violations and plays a decisive role in their popularity,” states the complaint (through Billboard). “Since the creators of the video often take short fragments of sound from TikTok, the proprietary melody often features in fifty or more of these viral videos.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuvczfqe-kw

According to Bi -bi -x on March 27, U.S. Judge Katherine Paul Fayl concluded that the songs by Brown and Linzer shared only common attributes along with unprotected musical elements previously used by Mozart and the Bee Gees in their hit “Stay” from 1977.

This victory marks the second time Lipa has successfully defended herself against plagiarism claims. The Florida-based reggae group Artikal Sound System previously sued her, arguing she copied the chorus of “Levitating” from their song “Live Your Life.” In 2023, the case was dismissed after the judge found no evidence that Lipa and her co-writers had access to the Artikal Sound System’s song.

However, Lipa is still facing another ongoing lawsuit regarding “Levitating” from producer Boszo Kant, who claims he never authorized the use of his recording “Conversation” in remixes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvot6ezhope

Dua Lipa on Music and Activism

Lipa previously spoke with NME during an extensive interview surrounding the release of her 2020 album, “Future Nostalgia.” Reflecting on the album, Lipa stated: “I am very glad that everyone has (album). The response was really good, and I would not want it to go any other direction. Music serves as salvation, and I hope that this music simply brings a little light and joy, and takes away from what is happening outside.”

She also emphasized the importance of voicing her beliefs: “I have never been told to stay silent about the things I care about, and if someone did, I would not listen. I have always been like that, and I feel that nothing can change who I am as a person. It is really important to talk about topics and normalize them.”

In other news, Lipa recently covered the classic track “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS during her concert in Sydney, Australia.