A federal judge has ruled that Dua Lipa must face a lawsuit accusing her of copying her 2021 hit song Levitating from a 1979 disco song.
The lawsuit was filed by songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, who allege that Levitating shares “compositional elements” with their song Wiggle and Giggle All Night. The plaintiffs say that the two songs share a similar melody, rhythm, and structure.
In a ruling on Tuesday, US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla said that the plaintiffs had alleged “just enough facts” to support their claim of copyright infringement. Failla said that the court could not “foreclose the possibility of plaintiffs meeting the undoubtedly high bar of proving striking similarity.”
Lawyers for Lipa and her record label, Warner Records, have not yet commented on the ruling.
This is not the first time that Lipa has been accused of copyright infringement. In 2022, she was sued by reggae band Artikal Sound System, who alleged that Levitating copied their song Live Your Life. That lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in June 2022.
The lawsuit against Lipa is the latest in a series of copyright infringement cases involving popular songs. In recent years, there have been lawsuits alleging that songs by Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, and Robin Thicke copied other songs.
It remains to be seen whether Lipa will be found liable for copyright infringement in this case. However, the ruling by Judge Failla means that she will have to defend herself against the allegations in court.