Dua Lipa and two songwriters, Sarah Hudson and Stephen Kozmeniuk, who collaborated on her song “Levitating,” are facing a lawsuit from L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer. The plaintiffs claim that “Levitating” infringes on their 1979 disco song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night (Wiggle).” A judge in New York has ruled that the lawsuit will proceed.
L. Russell Brown previously filed a lawsuit in 1980, alleging that the song “Don Diablo” by Miguel Bose, which was recorded by Cory Daye, also infringed on “Wiggle.” He won that copyright suit and now argues that “Levitating” bears similarities to both “Wiggle” and “Don Diablo.”
In their lawsuit, Brown and Linzer argue that the defendants drew inspiration from past musical eras while composing the music for Dua Lipa’s album “Future Nostalgia.” They claim that after noticing another song on the album resembling a 1987 disco song, the defendants gave credit to the original songwriters.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that the similarities between “Wiggle” and “Levitating” were significant enough to allow the lawsuit to proceed, despite the defendants’ motion to dismiss it.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs assert that the allegedly copied melody appears six times in “Levitating,” comprising approximately one-third of the song, and that the rhythm repeats 16 times.
Another copyright lawsuit involving “Levitating” was filed in Los Angeles by Florida reggae group Artikal Sound System. However, a judge dismissed their case in June.
Additionally, musician Bosko Kante filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles in July, claiming that Dua Lipa never obtained his permission to include his “talk box” recording in several remixes of “Levitating.”
In recent years, numerous high-profile artists have faced copyright-related lawsuits, including Ed Sheeran. Sheeran prevailed in a lawsuit brought against him by a songwriter for Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On,” which alleged that Sheeran had copied the chord progression in his song “Thinking Out Loud.”
It is worth noting that Dua Lipa’s representatives from Warner Records and the plaintiff’s lawyer have not yet provided comments on the matter.
Author Caitlin O’Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
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