After Ed Sheeran in early May, it is the turn of the British-Albanian singer Dua Lipa to win a lawsuit for plagiarism. She was sued by the reggae band Artikal Sound System, who claimed that her song had been so successful that Levitating's songwriters must have heard it. A success that would be explained according to them by the fact that they would have played it in concerts, would have sold "several hundred" CDs and that the song was available on listening platforms. This argument was inadmissible for Sykes J.A., who considered it "too generic or too insubstantial.
»See alsoDua Lipa accused twice of plagiarism for her title Levitating
According to Billboard, the judge noted several missing elements in the reggae band's speech. "The fact that the plaintiffs do not specify how often they performed Live your life in public during the specified time period, where these performances took place, and the size of the venues and/or audience, precludes the court from concluding that the plaintiffs' live performances of the song plausibly contributed to its saturation of the markets in which the defendants allegedly encountered it.
»Dropping of charges
Artikal Sound System also put forward a complicated theory to justify its complaint. "One of the co-writers of Dua Lipa had already worked with a woman to whom the brother-in-law of one of the band members would have taught guitar." For the judge, these "attenuated links" are insufficient. However, it gave them a second chance, giving them the opportunity to return with a more complete file until June 16 maximum. However, the group said it did not want to change its complaint and was dropping the lawsuit, according to RollingStone magazine.
Dua Lipa's hit was a hit in 2020, staying 77 weeks in the top 100 of Billboard Hot. But it has also brought its share of difficulties to the singer, who is not at her first trial for plagiarism on this title. Musicians Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer had also filed a complaint, believing that the singer had copied their songs Wiggle and Giggle All Night, dating from 1979, and Don Diablo, released in 1980.
