Photo credit: Warner Music
Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” lawsuit, questioning whether the London-born artist actually accessed the allegedly infringed title. Now the plaintiffs have agreed to drop the lawsuit, although they have been allowed to amend the lawsuit.
The joint dismissal motion was recently filed by attorneys for the plaintiffs (members of a Florida-based band called “.”) Artikal sound system) and the defendants (Warner Records, Dua Lipa and other “Levitating” creators). According to the filing, the case was dismissed unconditionally and each side of the (relatively) short-lived showdown will face its own costs.
At the time of writing, neither the Defendants nor Artikal Sound System (which posted a series of shows (for the remainder of 2023) had taken to social media regarding the dismissal of Dua Lipa’s Levitating lawsuit. Unlike many individual infringement lawsuits, fan comments throughout the litigation appeared to generally support Artikal Sound’s claims and complaints.
“Super talented group,” said a new supporter in a YouTube video of the allegedly stolen song. “I feel like this version is much more authentic. I’m glad copyright allows for a little more attention. I will definitely be listening to this group more.”
In any case, the lawsuit is just one of several breach-of-contract lawsuits naming the 27-year-old singer-songwriter for “Levitating,” which has racked up around 2.5 billion streams on Spotify alone.
Of course, in dismissing Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” lawsuit with leave to amend, the presiding judge also denied a request by the three-time Grammy winner to move the case to New York, where plaintiffs called Larball Publishing Company and Sandy Linzer Productions, suing for breach of contract .
The latter was originally submitted in March 2022 and focuses on elements from the 1979s “Wiggle and giggle all night” (recorded by Cory Daye) and in Spanish from the 1980s “Don Diablo” (recorded by Miguel Bosé) allegedly lifted without permission and used to make “Levitating”.
The “Levitating” songwriters and co-defendants, including Warner Records and Sony Music Publishing, moved to dismiss the simple lawsuit — and specifically the allegations related to “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” — stating that the lawsuit failed to establish “a to make a plausible claim”. Access” to the allegedly infringed work.
In addition, the notifiers allegedly failed to disclose “the existence – let alone the registration number – of a valid United States copyright registration” for the allegedly copied title. Earlier this year, Drake was named in a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit for “Calling My Name,” while 23-year-old GloRilla was sued for “Tomorrow.”