Dua Lipa "Levitating" infringement lawsuit

[Chickenwheels]

Elton John calls Dua Lipa. “Hey girl, been loving your ripping-bits-off-old-songs thing. Any-who, I have this great idea for a collaboration. I won’t even have to write anything new for it, either!!”
Dua: “Huh?!”

 

[DJ Bebop]

Love Dua and this song, but wow, these 2 tunes are very, very similar. I'm predicting a settlement and/or a potential writing credit on this one.

Dua Lipa Sued for Allegedly Ripping Off 'Levitating' from Reggae Band

Oh my sweet lord!

 

[Mili]

Sooooo good!

 

[Aidenn7]

I know we have copy right.. so artist get paid.. but I keep thinking will it ever become a thing of the past.. honestly thing are starting to all run together.. and I think pay to streaming is going to be a thing of the past to.. and direct to artist is going to be the new path.. the bands make all their money from merch and shows.. promoter will be the new labels.. and ticket master will be broken up for monopoly..

 

[beaglesandbass]

Yeah she's gonna lose that.

 

[Jazz Ad]

First audience, private settlement, band gets 1 point over sales and lives at large, Dua Lipa resumes singing, done. Deja vu all over again.

 

[andare]

Yawwn.

If it wasn't for the little "rap-lite" interlude I'd swear it was 1975 all over again, complete with fake synthesized handclaps! Frankly there's so little musical content there that practically anyone who's ever written a song in English could probably make a case for similarity.

It's not about the song. Find a video here she's not scantily clad, I dare you
It's purely entertainment and eye candy, the music is just the vehicle.

 

[DWBass]

Dua Lipa song resolves on the 1. The other tune doesn't. So not the same chord progression.

 

[gt96g]

I'll leave the actual is it a ripoff or isn't it to others, but I've always felt cases like this should be decided by arbitration councils made up of credible and impartial musicians. I think the idea of a judge or jury that most likely doesn't understand the first thing about music or composition will be charged with making these kinds of decisions is sort of laughable.

The ignorance of the people making the call basically invites these sorts of actions on the part of lesser known artists to sue successful ones who have a hit that arguably sounds similar to a song they wrote. Again, not arguing for or against in this instance. I just think the process for sorting out such things needs an overhaul.

 

[smtp4me]

Again, listen to the melody and the words.

I've listened. The words... maybe, but it is a reach. Artikal uses the lyrics "all day, all night" and Dua Lipa uses "I got you, moonlight, you're my starlight" - not even the same words.

But the melody, IMHO, no. Absolutely not. Because there are 12 notes to pick from, and the chance of more than one artist choosing the same notes in the same order, and even with the same note length/rhythm etc., is highly common and probable. With the hugely vast library of written and recorded music, the probability is extremely high that two artists will write the same melody (choose the same notes). And as musicians, the band Artikal should know this.

The worst part is that this will be settled or decided in a court room by people who don't know the first thing about music theory and composition.

 

[smtp4me]

I'll leave the actual is it a ripoff or isn't it to others, but I've always felt cases like this should be decided by arbitration councils made up of credible and impartial musicians. I think the idea of a judge or jury that most likely doesn't understand the first thing about music or composition will be charged with making these kinds of decisions is sort of laughable.

The ignorance of the people making the call basically invites these sorts of actions on the part of lesser known artists to sue successful ones who have a hit that arguably sounds similar to a song they wrote. Again, not arguing for or against in this instance. I just think the process for sorting out such things needs an overhaul.

Exactly.

 

[jlm00013]

For reference, here's the whole song on SoundCloud from Artikal Sound System:

 

[jlm00013]

Meanwhile, some of the songwriters are from South Florida: The Monsters & Strangerz - Wikipedia

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Blake Mills posted a great Twitter thread about this.

 

[ClusterFlux]

Oh, wait, what’s that? Artikal Sound System (not intentionally named after LCD Sound System) registered their song with BMI in October, 2021.

Nope, that's not how it works.

Copyright only requires that the work is in a fixed form -- "when it is captured (either by or under the authority of an author) in a sufficiently permanent medium such that the work can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated for more than a short time. For example, a work is fixed when you write it down or record it." (What is Copyright? | U.S. Copyright Office)

I.e. as soon as they finished recording the track, it was protected by copyright.

If they can prove that the song existed before Lipa recorded it, then it's protected. Once that's done, the next step is to prove that the elements that were allegedly copied are subject to copyright. This is typically limited to whatever can be notated on sheet music.

E.g. the "Blurred Lines" lawsuit is typically misinterpreted to suggest that you can copyright a "feel" of a song, but that's not the case. The jury was limited to what can be notated on a score. During the hearings, the jury was allowed to hear "Blurred Lines," but only a stripped-down version of “Got to Give It Up” -- the Gaye family was not allowed to play the Marvin Gaye recording.

Anyway. ASCAP and BMI are agencies that collects license fees on behalf of the artist or their label. You have to hold the copyright before you can register the song with those agencies.

So, the question is whether it's going to cost Lipa and her label more to take this to court, or to settle. I'm guessing they will eventually settle.

 

[ClusterFlux]

But the melody, IMHO, no. Absolutely not. Because there are 12 notes to pick from, and the chance of more than one artist choosing the same notes in the same order, and even with the same note length/rhythm etc., is highly common and probable.

No, dude. If that was the case, then we'd only have a handful of melodies, and they couldn't be copyrighted.

With the hugely vast library of written and recorded music, the probability is extremely high that two artists will write the same melody (choose the same notes).

And yet, it rarely happens, despite people writing hundreds of thousands of new songs every year. Hmmmmm

The worst part is that this will be settled or decided in a court room by people who don't know the first thing about music theory and composition.

Yeah, that's.... how the US legal system and juries work.

Aside from the fact that US juries are based on the principle of a "jury of peers," the reality is that it would be impossible for every case to select a jury with relevant expertise. If someone gets arrested for a cryptocurrency rug-pull, does that mean every member of the jury should be CPAs that specialize in crypto? No. It's the job of the prosecution and defense to make their case in a way the jury can understand.

 

[Killing Floor]

jury of peers,"

Would I’d be a panel of British pop stars or a dozen stoners nabbed at a hemp show? Asking for a friend.

 

[LXvG]

This has been addressed though, there is just a finite number of tunes you can create with 12 notes: New algorithm generates every possible melody to curb copyright lawsuits

 

[turf3]

It's not about the song. Find a video here she's not scantily clad, I dare you
It's purely entertainment and eye candy, the music is just the vehicle.

Let me guess: I bet she gyrates suggestively, too.

The idea that an eye candy "singer" chosen for looks and dancing, should somehow morph into a skilled songwriter to up her artistic credibility, is kind of laughable.

 

[friskinator]

Let me guess: I bet she gyrates suggestively, too.

The idea that an eye candy "singer" chosen for looks and dancing, should somehow morph into a skilled songwriter to up her artistic credibility, is kind of laughable.

There's nothing wrong with being a good looking, great entertainer with songs written and crafted by someone else. Its been happening since pop music began. And not just with women.