Dua Lipa wins legal battle as copyright lawsuit over ‘Levitating’ is dismissed

This victory marks Dua Lipa’s second successful defence against copyright claims over “Levitating”. However, one lawsuit is still pending.

Grammy-winning pop star Dua Lipa can breathe a sigh of relief yet again – her chart-topping hit “Levitating” has officially dodged a second copyright infringement claim.

A New York federal judge ruled in her favour on Thursday (27 March), dismissing a lawsuit that accused the Albanian-British singer of borrowing melodies from a 1979 disco track.

The case, brought by music publishers Larball Publishing Co. and Sandy Linzer Productions, alleged that “Levitating” copied elements of “Wiggle and Giggle All Night”, a song released more than four decades ago.

In what U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla called the publishers’ “last-ditch effort to salvage their claim,” they contended that a specific “patter style” of sung notes and a “pop-disco” musical feel made their melody unique enough to be protected.

Take a listen below. The alleged stolen melody occurs at 0:24.

Lipa’s legal team, however, countered with historical evidence, showing that the patter style had existed for centuries, dating back to Mozart, Rossini, and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Judge Failla agreed, dismissing the argument and cautioning against stifling creativity in music.

This is not the first time Lipa has faced copyright claims over the song. In March 2022, a band called Artikal Sound System filed a lawsuit alleging that ‘Levitating’ is “substantially similar” to their track ‘Live Your Life.

That lawsuit was thrown out in June, with US District Judge Sunshine Sykes concluding that Artikal Sound System had failed to argue that the writers of ‘Levitating’ ever had access to the group’s 2017 song.

What’s next for Dua Lipa? Another legal battle looms

While this victory clears yet another legal hurdle for Lipa, she’s not entirely out of the woods just yet.

The singer is still facing a third lawsuit in California federal court from music producer and musician Bosko Kante, who claims his talk box samples were used in “Levitating” remixes without permission.

Kante, who composed original melodies and lyrics for his part in the song, said in the lawsuit that the use of his performance on three remixes of Lipa’s hit song infringed his copyright.

He claims that he and producers “explicitly agreed” verbally that his work would not be re-used in samples of the song or otherwise by Dua Lipa or Warner Music.

One of the three remixes of “Levitating” includes the remix featuring rapper DaBaby. This version has become the most successful version, with 944 million views of the song’s video on YouTube and nearly 2.3 billion streams on Spotify.

Kante is seeking at least $2 million (€1.8 million) in damages, $20 million (€18.2 million) in lost profits and attorneys’ fees.