See every side of every news story
Published loading...Updated

Dua Lipa Wins ‘Levitating’ Copyright Case With Ruling Dismissing Infringement Lawsuit

  • In 2022, Dua Lipa was sued in two separate copyright infringement cases over her 2020 hit song "Levitating," one by Artikal Sound System and another by L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, both alleging she copied key elements from their earlier songs.
  • The lawsuits were based on claims that "Levitating" plagiarized the 1979 disco track "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" and the 1980s song "Don Diablo" by Brown and Linzer, and the 2015 reggae song "Live Your Life" by Artikal Sound System.
  • US Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed the Brown and Linzer case in a New York court, ruling that the songs only shared generic, non-copyrightable musical elements, such as a descending scale and a 'patter style' used in music for centuries, including by Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Bee Gees.
  • While the court acknowledged that a layperson might hear similarities, Judge Failla cited the Structured Asset Sales v. Ed Sheeran case as precedent, stating that a musical style or function, such as 'pop with a disco feel' or 'entertainment and dancing,' cannot be protected by copyright law, echoing the Sheeran case where common, unprotectible elements were used.
  • Despite the dismissal, lawyers for Brown and Linzer, including Jason T. Brown, expressed their disagreement and intention to appeal, arguing that juries should be allowed to hear and judge the similarities, emphasizing the enduring value of original songwriting, while Dua Lipa continues her year-long Radical Optimism world tour in Australia.
Insights by Ground AI
Does this summary seem wrong?

42 Articles

All
Left
10
Center
3
Right
1
Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 71% of the sources lean Left
71% Left
Factuality

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

VG broke the news in Oslo, Norway on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics

You have read out of your 5 free daily articles.

Join us as a member to unlock exclusive access to diverse content.