Dua Lipa temporarily wins 'Levitating' copyright infringement lawsuit

Dua Lipa has temporarily won a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against her for her 2020 hit track ‘Levitating’.

Filed in March last year by Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System, the lawsuit alleged that Lipa’s ‘Levitating’ copied the hook of their 2017 track ‘Live Your Life’. While their initial filing did not include explicit evidence as to how Lipa copied ‘Live Your Life’, the band alleged that she had “access” to the track.

Now, per a Billboard report, US District Judge Sunshine Sykes has temporarily dismissed the case in favour of Dua Lipa, saying that Artikal Sound System have been unable to substantiate their accusations.

In their lawsuit, the reggae band offered up one theory that claims one of Dua Lipa’s co-writers had in the past worked with someone who was reportedly taught the guitar by a brother-in-law of one of the band’s members.

“These attenuated links, which bear little connection to either of the two musical compositions at issue here, also do not suggest a reasonable likelihood that defendants actually encountered plaintiffs’ song,” Judge Sykes wrote, per Billboard.

However, the case isn’t completely closed, as Judge Sykes has ruled that Artikal Sound System have until June 16 to refile their complaint if they are able to provide substantial evidence to back up their accusations.

NME has reached to the respective management for both Dua Lipa and Artikal Sound System for comment.

Earlier this month, Dua Lipa criticised the British government’s “small-minded and shortsighted” attitude to migrants. In October, the home secretary Suella Braverman singled out “Albanian criminals” and claimed England was facing an “invasion” of migrants crossing the Channel by small boats.

“All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city,” Lipa said. “So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It’s shortsighted and small-minded, but it’s the way a lot of people think.”

“Immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard,” she added. “There needs to be more empathy, because people don’t leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family.”

Last month, Dua Lipa shared a new track ‘Dance The Night’, the lead single from the upcoming Barbie movie soundtrack. As well as providing the lead single, Dua Lipa also has a cameo appearance in the film — playing a mermaid variation of Barbie.