Dua Lipa Triumphs in Copyright Dispute over Levitating

In a recent ruling, a U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming that Lipa's catchy single borrowed musical elements from two older tracks, clearing her of all accusations.

Dua Lipa has emerged victorious in a recent copyright lawsuit concerning her smash hit "Levitating." The dispute, which lasted over a year, involved accusations from songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, who claimed that Lipa's track borrowed elements from their disco songs "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" (1979) and "Don Diablo" (1980).

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that the similarities between the tracks were generic and limited to non-copyrightable elements, a conclusion supported by historical musical references from iconic artists such as Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Bee Gees in their classic "Stayin' Alive."

This legal victory for Lipa is her second regarding "Levitating." In 2022, she faced another lawsuit from the Floridian reggae band Artikal Sound System, who accused her of lifting elements from their 2015 song "Live Your Life." That case was dropped earlier this year, primarily because the court found no substantial evidence showing that Lipa or her co-writers had access to the band’s work.

Despite her recent triumphs, Lipa still faces a pending case from musician Bosko Kante, a contributor to "Levitating." Kante, who sang vocal elements through a talk box on the track, claims his contributions were used in remixes without his permission and is seeking at least $2 million in damages.

The lawsuit filed by Brown and Linzer asserted that Lipa's opening melody, which begins with "If you wanna run away with me, I know a galaxy and I can take you for a ride," was a direct copy of their work. In her ruling, Judge Failla emphasized that the musical genre defined as "pop with a disco feel," shouldn't be restricted by copyright laws; otherwise, it would halt musical evolution within that styling.

Coincidentally, this ruling came on the fifth anniversary of “Levitating”’s original release as part of Lipa's acclaimed album, "Future Nostalgia." Despite the setback, Brown and Linzer's legal representatives expressed their disagreement with the ruling and indicated plans for an appeal, while Dua Lipa has not publicly commented on the outcome yet.