Dua Lipa is set to go to court for the third time over her hit song ‘Levitating’.
Songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer filed a lawsuit last March accusing the pop star of copying their 1979 disco hit ‘Wiggle and Giggle All Night’, with the pair believing the opening melody shares “compositional elements” with Dua’s 2020 ‘Future Nostalgia’ track.
And now, US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla says the 27-year-old singer will have to stand trial.
However, the plaintiffs will have to prove the “striking similarity” of the “repetitive rhythm” and “signature melody”.
Failla said: “The court cannot foreclose the possibility of plaintiffs meeting the undoubtedly high bar of proving striking similarity.”
Jason Brown, a lawyer for the pair, said they “have great respect for the artists of today but if their material is used there must be proper attribution and compensation.
“We look forward to conducting discovery and taking this case to trial.”
The duo also claimed 1980’s ‘Don Diablo’, which was performed by Miguel Bosé, also resembles Dua’s chart hit.
Just recently, another ‘Levitating’ copyright infringement case was dismissed.
The ‘Dance The Night’ singer and label Warner Records were sued over the track’s similarities to Artikal Sound System’s 2017 reggae single ‘Live Your Life’.
The band said they believed Dua, and her team heard their song and produced a carbon copy in ‘Levitating’.
However, US District Judge Sunshine Sykes said that Artikal Sound System had no way of proving that Dua and her team had access to their song.
They were given the option to file a new lawsuit should they wish to, with their attorney Stewart Levy stating that they were contemplating their next move.
Furthermore, the judge refused to allow them to move the case from Los Angeles to New York, where Linzer and Brown’s will be heard.
As well as Dua and Warner, DaBaby, the rapper who featured on a remix of ‘Levitating’, was named in the lawsuit.
And, on July 31, musician Bosko Kante alleged Dua didn’t seek his permission to use his “talk box” recording in remixes of the hit.
Dua previously admitted she never expected ‘Levitating’ to become such a big hit.
She confessed: “I can never preempt what song people are going to react to the best, but ‘Levitating’ was the first song that helped dictate the rest of the album.”