Dua Lipa is facing copyright claims amid a dispute over her song Levitating (Picture: Getty Images)
Dua Lipa will be heading to court for a third time over copyright claims relating to her 2020 smash hit Levitating.
The 27-year-old singer was told by a judge in New York she would have to face a lawsuit that insinuated she copied a disco song from 1979 when penning the modern chart-topper.
It was ruled by US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla that Wiggle and Giggle All Night songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer could attempt to prove ‘substantial similarity’ between their track and Levitating, according to Sky News.
The lawsuit was originally filed last year in March and accused Dua’s song of possessing ‘compositional elements’ similar to the 70s tune, in particular with its opening melodic structure.
Dua’s lawyers argued against the claim and put forward that it was wrong to believe the star in her twenties would have ever heard the older melody before writing and releasing Levitating.
While the judge ruling over the case agreed with Dua’s lawyers’ train of thought, she also said the plaintiffs alleged ‘just enough facts’ to put forward a legitimate argument that the songs were ‘strikingly similar’.
Dua released her chart-topping hit in 2020 (Picture: Getty Images)
The judge ruled that the opposing song writers may have a case against her (Picture: WireImage)
She pointed out that their claims in particular about sharing a ‘repetitive rhythm’ and ‘signature melody’, helped their case and alerted the singer’s team she must prove she never copied their original idea.
Judge Failla penned: ‘The court cannot foreclose the possibility of plaintiffs meeting the undoubtedly high bar of proving striking similarity.’
Legal teams for the songwriters accusing Dua of copyright released a statement that said the musicians ‘have great respect for the artists of today but if their material is used there must be proper attribution and compensation.
She will appear in court for the third time (Picture: GC Images)
‘We look forward to conducting discovery and taking this case to trial.’
The outcome of Judge Failla’s decision as it relates to the claims made by Sandy and Russell does not cover the plaintiffs’ suggestion that the number one hit copied a different song – Don Diablo – for which they also owned a copyright.
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Ultimately peaking at number five in the UK charts, Levitating was a track on the star’s Future Nostalgia album and spent 77 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 US singles chart – also enjoying time as the organisation’s number one song on their 2021 year-end chart.
Metro.co.uk contacted Dua’s reps for comment.
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The judge ruled the songwriters could attempt to prove ‘substantial similarity’.