Ever since “Levitating” became a monster hit in 2020, the Dua Lipa song has been a magnet for legal action. In 2022, both Artikal Sound System – a Florida reggae group – and L. Russel Brown and Sandy Linzer – a pair of songwriters – filed lawsuits arguing that Lipa’s hit ripped off portions of their songs. Then, in 2023, a musician who was featured on “Levitating” filed a suit saying that his vocals were used on remixes without his permission.
While the Artikal Sound System case was dropped in 2023 after a federal judge said it was seriously flawed, the remaining two lawsuits were still pending – until March of this year. That is when US Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled in Lipa’s favor, dismissing the claim by Brown and Linzer.
What was her reasoning?
Why Brown and Linzer Lost Their Case against Dua Lipa
In their claim against Lipa, Brown and Linzer argued that the opening melody and phrasing of “Levitating” was a duplicate of their songs – 1979 disco track “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and “Don Diablo” from 1980.
However, in her ruling the judge found only generic similarities between the songs that she deemed uncopyrightable.
In her words, “The court finds that a musical style, defined by plaintiffs as ‘pop with a disco feel,’ and a musical function, defined by plaintiffs to include ‘entertainment and dancing,’ cannot possibly be protectable…To hold otherwise would be to completely foreclose the further development of music in that genre or for that purpose.”
She went on to explain that some of the elements Brown and Linzer were basing their argument on had previously been used by numerous other musicians, including the Bee Gees, Gilbert and Sullivan, and even Mozart.
A Win for Lipa, But Still Not the End of Her Legal Woes
This is a big win for Lipa and “Levitating,” and one might even argue for the continued ability of musicians to do what they’ve always done – create something new and different from the existing musical melange. And for Brown, Linzer, and other music copyright holders, it is a lesson that violations must be based on substantial similarities if you want to build a winning case.
That being said, Lipa is not completely in the clear. As mentioned above, she still faces a suit filed by a musician who was featured on “Levitating” and believes his contributions were used without permission in remixes of the song. That case is still ongoing, and will likely come down to contractual language. We’ll make sure to keep you updated as your trusted resource for intellectual property law.