Dua Lapa gains demand for copyright on Levitas

Dua Lipa has won the dismissal of a lawsuit that accused her of copying her successful Single Levitating of two other songs.

The star was sued in 2022 by the composers L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, who accused her of plagiarizing her 1979 disco track Move and laugh all night and 1980 Don Diablo.

On Thursday, American judge Katherine Polk Failla ruled that the songs only had generic similarities, including non -police musical elements that had also previously used by Mozart, Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Bee Gees in their Stayin ‘Alive song.

It is the second time that Lipa has won a plagiarism case on Levites, which was a global success in 2020.

He was previously sued by Florida’s reggae band Artikal Sound System, who said Lipa started the choir for his song of his 2015 song Live your life.

His case was withdrawn in 2023 after a judge ruled that there was no evidence that Lipa and his co -writers had “access” to the previous song, a key requirement in any demand for copyright.

However, he still faces a third legal challenge about the song, by the musician Bosko Kante, an outstanding artist in Levitating, who sang voices through a conversation box.

He sued in 2023, saying that his contribution had been used in the remixes of the song without permission.

Kante seeks damage of at least $ 2 million (£ 1.5m) plus interest, as well as profits of the remixes, which estimated at least $ 20 million (£ 15 million).

Brown and Linzer’s case claimed that Lipa stole the levitating opening melody, where he sings: “If you want to escape with me, I know a galaxy and I can take you to take a walk.“

They called the melody and wrote a “duplicate” of their own songs.

But Judge Failla wrote that the elements were too common to be protected by law.

“The Court considers that a musical style, defined by the plaintiffs as ‘Pop with a sensation of disco’ and a musical function, defined by the plaintiffs that include ‘entertainment and dance’, cannot be protected,” the judge wrote.

“Sustaining otherwise would be a complete exclusion from the development of music in that genre or for that purpose.”

By coincidence, the ruling came on the fifth anniversary of the launch of Levitating, initially as an album song on the award -winning Lipa Future Nostalgia album.

In a statement to the publication of the music industry, Brown and Linzer’s lawyers said that “respectfully disagree” with the decision and would present an appeal.

The BBC has contacted Dua Lipa for an answer.