Dua Lipa Bags Victory In 'Levitating' Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Dua Lipa has scored a significant win in the copyright case thanks to "insubstantial" evidence.

The Albanian sensation has been turning heads with her mezzo-soprano vocal range, earning international recognition for her chart-topping songs. Outside music, the 27-year-old makes waves for her fashion prowess and advocacy.

Last year, the pop star landed in legal trouble after a small band from Florida accused her of stealing one of their songs to create her hit 2020 track, "Levitating." However, the reggae band's allegations were deemed flawed at best.

In a recent hearing for the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by the band Artikal Sound System, Billboard reported that the "One Kiss" songstress emerged victorious. The reggae group accused the 27-year-old of stealing the core hook from their 2017 track "Live Your Life."

During the ruling on June 5, U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes expressed several doubts about the case and the plaintiff's claims that Lipa had gotten inspiration from the band's song. The federal judge stated that she saw no concrete evidence that the entertainer had ever heard of the tune they accused her of copying. 

According to Judge Sykes, no proven connection existed between the creators of "Levitating" and the Artikal Sound System group. A crucial part of any copyright case involves establishing the other party had access to the information at stake.

In their defense, the Florida band painted a tangled web of relationships between themselves and the celebrated singer. The plaintiffs claimed that one of the Grammy winner's co-writer had once worked with a woman who was allegedly taught how to play the guitar by one of the band members' brother-in-law.

Unfortunately, the reggae group's soap opera connection did not dent the judge's decree. "These attenuated links, which bear little connection to either of the two musical compositions at issue here, also do not suggest a reasonable likelihood that defendants encountered plaintiffs' song," the legal umpire noted in her ruling.

Additionally, the Artikal Sound System band claimed that their song had gained widespread attention, enough for one of Lipa's team to hear it. The reggae group said they played "Live Your Life" at various concerts and allegedly sold "several hundred" physical CDs.

Their song was also available on some streaming platforms, increasing the possibility of "Levitating" spawning from their work. However, Judge Sykes argued their allegations were "too generic or too insubstantial" to maintain the infringement lawsuit. The legal practitioner's ruling read:

"Plaintiffs’ failure to specify how frequently they performed "Live Your Life" publicly during the specified period, where these performances took place, and the size of the venues and/or audiences precludes the Court from finding that Plaintiffs’ live performances of the song plausibly contributed to its saturation of markets in which Defendants would have encountered it."

Although the judge's ruling dismissed the lawsuit against Lipa, the case was not over. Sykes concluded that the Artikal Sound System band could refile their complaint after fixing the mistakes and "insubstantial" evidence she had highlighted.

Following the Artikal Sound System band's copyright infringement case against Lipa, a second party arose from the shadows and slapped the "New Rules" singer with another lawsuit. Last March, the Albanian beauty came under legal scrutiny for her "Levitating" song.

Representatives for the second plaintiffs, L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against the 27-year-old. The songwriters, known for the tracks "Wiggle And Giggle All Night" and "Don Diablo," accused the media personality of ripping off their work.

According to the lawsuit: "The infringing works have compositional elements substantially similar to those of the [Brown and Linzer, or BL in the lawsuit] songs." The filing added that the melody from Lipa's hit tune matched the rhythm of the accusers' music.

"Most significantly, the first and defining melody (the signature melody) in the infringing works is a duplicate of the opening melody from the BL songs," the statement continued. "The signature melody is repeated six times in 'Levitating' and three times in 'Levitating (Da Baby.)'"

The songwriters described the AMA winner's track as a "duplicate" of the melodies from their songs. Their filing claimed Lipa had "levitated away the plaintiffs' intellectual property. Plaintiffs bring suit so defendants cannot wiggle out of their willful infringement."