'Levitating': Dua Lipa copyright infringement case dismissed in US court
World-renowned pop singer Dua Lipa has emerged victorious in the courtroom—for now! The Grammy Award-winning singer, alongside her co-songwriters, Clarence Coffee Jr., Sarah Hudson, and Stephen Kozmeniuk, and Warner Records, celebrated a legal victory on Monday when a federal court in Los Angeles dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Lipa had plagiarized a song by the Florida reggae group Artikal Sound System, according to reports.
Why does this story matter?
With chart-toppers like One Kiss and New Rules, Lipa has solidified her position in the global music industry. The song in question, Levitating, for which Lipa is currently facing two copyright infringement cases, was released in 2020 as part of the album Future Nostalgia. Separately, Lipa admitted to drawing inspiration from Brown and Linzer (one of the complainants) when creating her aforementioned album.
How many cases were filed against Lipa?
Lipa was sued twice for copyright infringement in 2022, over Levitating. The first lawsuit was filed in March by Artikal Sound System for their composition Live Your Life. Meanwhile, the second lawsuit was filed in New York on behalf of L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, alleging that Lipa duplicated melodies from their songs Wiggle and Giggle All Night (1979) and Don Diablo (1980).
US district judge deemed Artikal Sound System's arguments unsubstantiated
In a turn of events, the US district judge granted the motion to dismiss the case against Lipa, ruling that Artikal Sound failed to present enough evidence that the writers of Levitating had access to their song. The judge also rejected the band's request to move its case to New York to be heard with another similar infringement lawsuit by songwriters Linzer and Brown.
Has the case been definitively closed?
Per reports, the US district judge granted Artikal Sound System the option to file a new amended complaint by June 16, allowing them an opportunity to strengthen their case. The current judgment signifies a temporary victory for Lipa and the other defendants. While this specific lawsuit has been dismissed, the outcome of the ongoing copyright infringement case involving other songwriters of Levitating remains uncertain.
