Dua Lipa wins copyright battle over "Levitating"

Dua Lipa has successfully defended herself against a copyright infringement lawsuit that accused her of plagiarizing elements of her chart-topping single "Levitating." A U.S. court has ruled in her favor, marking the second time she has triumphed against allegations of musical theft related to the song.

In 2022, songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer filed a lawsuit claiming that Lipa had copied elements from their 1979 disco track "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" and their 1980 song "Don Diablo." However, on Thursday, U.S. Judge Katherine Polk Failla dismissed the case, stating that the similarities between "Levitating" and the older tracks were too generic to be protected under copyright law.

The judge pointed out that the disputed elements, including the melody and phrasing, were not original enough to warrant legal protection, as they had already appeared in various forms throughout musical history. In her ruling, she referenced compositions by Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Bee Gees’ classic hit "Stayin’ Alive" as examples of similar musical structures.

This marks the second time Lipa has faced and won a plagiarism case involving "Levitating," which became a global sensation upon its release in 2020. In a separate lawsuit, the Florida-based reggae band Artikal Sound System accused her of copying the chorus of their 2015 track "Live Your Life." That case was dismissed in 2023 after a judge ruled there was no evidence that Lipa or her co-writers had access to the song before creating "Levitating."

Despite these victories, Lipa is still entangled in legal trouble over "Levitating." Musician Bosko Kante, who contributed vocals via a talk box on the track, has filed a lawsuit claiming that his work was used in remixes of the song without his permission. He is seeking at least $2 million in damages, plus a share of the profits from the remixes, which he estimates to be around $20 million.

Brown and Linzer, the plaintiffs in the most recently dismissed case, have stated that they "respectfully disagree" with the court’s decision and plan to appeal. Meanwhile, Lipa has yet to comment publicly on the ruling.

The ruling came on a notable day—March 27, 2025—the fifth anniversary of "Levitating’s" initial release on Lipa’s Grammy-winning album Future Nostalgia. The song’s enduring popularity and legal battles highlight the complexities of copyright law in the modern music industry, where the line between inspiration and infringement remains a hotly debated issue.