Recent Wins for Major Artists
It has been a successful couple of weeks for renowned songwriters involved in copyright infringement trials. Initially, Mariah Carey triumphed in a lengthy lawsuit that accused her of borrowing significant elements from her iconic hit All I Want for Christmas Is You.
Now, news reports indicate that Dua Lipa has also secured a victory in a notable case concerning her hit Levitating.
Court Rulings on Copyright Violations
The federal judge in New York dismissed the copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Records, affirming that Levitating, released in 2020, did not unlawfully copy the disco vibe from a song dating back to 1979.
According to the ruling issued on Thursday (March 27), U.S. District Judge Katherine P. Failla granted a summary judgment in favor of Lipa and her collaborators, concluding that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate significant similarity between the protected elements of their works.
Among the defendants were all three major music publishers: Sony Music Publishing (US) LLC, Universal Music Corporation, and Warner Records Inc., along with Lipa’s co-writers, Clarence Coffee Jr., Sarah Hudson, and Stephen Kozmeniuk.
The lawsuit, filed by Larball Publishing Company and Sandy Linzer Productions, alleged that Levitating infringed their copyrights for two songs: Sway and Groove All Night, both disco tracks from 1979, and Don Diablo, a song from 1980 recorded by Miguel Bosé, for which the plaintiffs claimed rights due to a prior settlement.
(MBW has received the judge’s ruling, which you can read in full here.)
Judge’s Decision and Precedent
Judge Failla determined that the musical phrases distinguishing Levitating and the plaintiffs’ works comprised “five groups of descending 16th notes along a minor scale in Levitating, but on the primary scale of D in Don Diablo”.
The court concluded that this descending scale and an additional note, which the plaintiffs contended formed a “distinctive melody,” were not protected under copyright law.
“The court ultimately concludes that under the law, there can be no significant similarity (and consequently, no copyright infringement), because ‘the similarity between (these) works pertains only to unprotected elements,’” Judge Failla stated.
The ruling was significantly influenced by a recent decision in Structured Asset Sales, LLC v. Sheeran, which established that fundamental musical building blocks like notes, rhythms, and chords typically do not qualify for copyright protection.
The Sheeran decision provided a solid legal basis that benefited Lipa’s case, as Judge Failla clearly referenced it when addressing the plaintiffs’ argument regarding the descending scale and an additional note as protective expressions.
The plaintiffs attempted to assert that further elements, such as “vocal patterns,” a musical style that fused “pop with disco sensibilities,” tempo, and other features, combined to form protectable content.
However, the court dismissed this theory, pointing out that these arguments were introduced too late and lacked sufficient originality to be protected under copyright law.
Judge Failla noted that some of the cited elements were commonplace compositional techniques and that the evidence of the purported “vocal pattern” had been employed “for centuries” in the works of composers like Mozart and Rossini, as well as in operettas by Gilbert and Sullivan.
Furthermore, the court stated that the musical style characterized by the plaintiffs as ‘pop with disco influences’ and the identified musical function of providing “entertainment and dance” could not be exclusively protected, as doing so would hinder further musical innovation in that genre or for that purpose.
The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ demands for declaratory relief and accounting, acknowledging they would only be viable if the copyright claims had been upheld.
This dismissal marks the resolution of one of several legal challenges faced by Dua Lipa regarding Levitating.
In 2022, a group called Artikal Sound System claimed that Levitating was “strikingly similar” to their track Live Your Life.
This case was dismissed by a federal court judge, ruling that Artikal Sound System failed to provide evidence suggesting the creators of Levitating had access to their song.
In a separate ongoing case, the producer Boszt Kant filed a lawsuit against Lipa, WMG, and producer Stephen Kozmeniuk in 2023, alleging that his Talkbox recording was used without permission in three remixes of Levitating.
In September 2024, Judge Ernan D. Vera from the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California denied the motion to dismiss this case, allowing it to proceed.
Dua Lipa wins major copyright lawsuit over hit song Levitating (with a little help from Ed Sheeran)
