Dua Lipa Prevails in Copyright Lawsuit Over "Levitating"

The ruling comes amidst ongoing challenges in the music industry, as Lipa faces another lawsuit while touring Australia.

Dua Lipa has emerged victorious in a copyright case involving her hit song "Levitating," which had drawn accusations of plagiarism from songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer. The lawsuit, filed in 2022, claimed that Lipa had borrowed elements from their 1979 disco song "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" and the 1980 track "Don Diablo." However, United States District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled on Thursday that the similarities between the songs were merely generic and involved musical elements that are not under copyright protection.

In her ruling, Judge Failla noted that the commonalities cited by the plaintiffs had previously been utilized in the works of renowned artists like Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Bee Gees with their classic "Stayin' Alive." This marks the second time Lipa has successfully defended "Levitating" against copyright allegations; she previously faced a lawsuit from Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System, which claimed she copied their 2015 song "Live Your Life." That case was dismissed in 2023 when a judge determined there was no evidence that Lipa and her co-writers had any access to the earlier work, a crucial factor in any copyright claim.

Currently, Dua Lipa is in the midst of her Radical Optimism world tour in Australia, bringing excitement to her fanbase. Nevertheless, she is still confronting a separate legal challenge from Bosko Kante, a featured artist on "Levitating," who is seeking $2 million in damages for alleged unauthorized remixes of the song, claiming his contribution was utilized without consent.

The initial lawsuit from Brown and Linzer specifically targeted the song's opening lines, pointing to a perceived duplication in melody. However, Judge Failla dismissed these claims, emphasizing that the musical style, described by the plaintiffs as "pop with a disco feel," cannot be protected by copyright law. She stated, "To hold otherwise would be to completely foreclose the further development of music in that genre or for that purpose." Coincidentally, this ruling coincided with the fifth anniversary of "Levitating's" release as part of Lipa's acclaimed album, "Future Nostalgia."

Following the ruling, Brown and Linzer expressed their intention to appeal the decision, while representatives for Dua Lipa have yet to respond.