Dua Lipa Levitating Lawsuit: Two Copying Claims, Two Losses
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The Dua Lipa Levitating lawsuit is really several cases, and none of them is a class action. In March 2022 a Florida reggae band and two disco-era songwriters each claimed “Levitating” copied their music. The band’s case ended in June 2023. The songwriters lost on summary judgment on March 27, 2025. A separate dispute over talk-box vocals on the remixes was filed in 2023. There is no settlement, no fund and nothing for listeners to claim.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Lawsuits Claimed
Artikal Sound System, a Florida reggae band, alleged that “Levitating” was a knockoff of its 2017 song “Live Your Life” and that the writers copied it in 2020. The suit named Warner Records among the defendants and sought damages and profits.
Larball Publishing and Sandy Linzer Productions, the companies of songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, alleged that the opening melody of “Levitating” copied their 1979 disco song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and the 1980 song “Don Diablo,” whose copyright they had obtained after suing over it in 1983.
Both theories were about the melody. Neither case claimed a chord progression on its own, and the court’s reasoning explains why that would have been a weak claim.
Case Details
Artikal case: Cope v. Warner Records, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-01384, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Judge Sunshine Suzanne Sykes.
Songwriters’ case: Larball Publishing Company, Inc. v. Lipa, No. 1:22-cv-01872, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Katherine Polk Failla. It was filed on March 4, 2022. Defendants included Dua Lipa, her co-writers, Warner Records, Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music.
Talk-box case: producer Bosko Kante sued in federal court in Los Angeles on July 31, 2023. The case is before Judge Hernán D. Vera.
Status: Both 2022 Cases Ended in Lipa’s Favor
Larball: judgment for the defendants. On March 27, 2025 Judge Failla granted summary judgment. Once ordinary building blocks were filtered out, she found the shared material was “one descending scale plus one additional identical note.” That is not protectable. The plaintiffs’ lawyer said they intended to appeal. We could not confirm from court records whether an appeal was filed or decided.
Kante: unresolved in public records. In September 2024 the court refused to dismiss the copyright claim. Later reports in March 2025 still described the case as ongoing.
Is Anyone Else Affected?
No. These are copyright suits between songwriters, a producer, the artist and her labels and publishers. Listeners, streamers, concertgoers and buyers of “Future Nostalgia” are not class members. There is no class to join.
Only the people who own the songs or recordings involved could ever collect anything. As of October 2026, no court has found that “Levitating” infringed anyone’s song.
Is There Any Money?
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 56,816 federal civil cases of this typeclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2025:
- 20.1% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 57.3% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 20.1% and 77.4%.
- 2.1% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 310 reached a trial (0.3%), after a median of 29.4 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 4.3 months.
- Only 1,959 of them (3.4%) record a money award at all; the median of those is $35,000.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal copyright cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Levitating Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
March 2022 — Two Suits in One Week
Artikal Sound System sues in Los Angeles over “Live Your Life.” Larball and Sandy Linzer Productions sue in Manhattan on March 4, 2022 over “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and “Don Diablo.”
- 2
June 2023 — Artikal Case Ends
Judge Sykes finds no plausible access to the band’s song. Days later, both sides ask the court to dismiss the case for good.
- 3
July 31, 2023 — Talk-Box Suit Filed
Producer Bosko Kante alleges that his talk-box vocals were licensed only for the original track, then reused on three remixes, including the DaBaby version.
- 4
August 2023 — Songwriters’ Case Survives
Judge Failla denies the motion to dismiss. She finds that the claimed similarity to “Wiggle” was pleaded well enough, even without facts showing access.
- 5
September 2024 — Kante Claim Proceeds
Judge Vera refuses to dismiss Kante’s copyright claim but throws out his separate accounting claim.
- 6
March 27, 2025 — Summary Judgment for Lipa
Judge Failla rules that the shared descending scale and extra note are not protectable. The plaintiffs said they would appeal. We found no public settlement in any of the cases, but the Kante case could not be checked against current court records.
Three Things to Watch For
A famous name and the word “lawsuit” are enough for imposters, even with no money involved:
“Levitating settlement” claim pages
There has never been a consumer settlement over “Levitating.” Any site asking for your name, card number or Social Security number to “claim your share” is collecting data. It is not filing anything.
“You streamed it, you’re owed royalties”
Listeners are not parties to copyright suits. Messages saying a court found infringement and owes streamers money get the outcome backwards: the main case was lost by the people claiming infringement.
Pay-to-register songwriter “claims”
Musicians may be pitched a fee to “register” a song against a hit for a share of a case like this. Copyright claims belong to the owner of a specific registered work. Nobody adds you to someone else’s lawsuit for a fee.
Levitating Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Did Dua Lipa lose the Levitating lawsuit?
No. The Artikal Sound System case was dismissed in June 2023 and then dropped. In the Larball case, Judge Failla granted summary judgment to Lipa and her co-defendants on March 27, 2025.
Which songs was Levitating accused of copying?
“Live Your Life” (2017) by Artikal Sound System, and “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” (1979) and “Don Diablo” (1980), whose rights are held by Larball Publishing and Sandy Linzer Productions.
Why did the court say the melody was not copied?
The court did not say the songs sound different. It agreed that an ordinary listener could hear similarities. But it held that the overlap, five groupings of repeated 16th notes running down a scale plus one extra note, is made of basic building blocks nobody can own. On style, it said treating “pop with a disco feel” as protectable would “completely foreclose the further development of music in that genre.”
Can a chord progression be copyrighted?
Generally not on its own. Judge Failla relied on the Second Circuit’s 2024 Ed Sheeran decision, which held that “a chord progression and harmonic rhythm, in combination” were not protectable. Common loops like the I–V–vi–IV progression are shared tools behind countless songs. A plaintiff needs original melody, lyrics or an original arrangement of elements.
Why was the Artikal case thrown out?
Copying requires access. The court found that the band had not plausibly shown that the “Levitating” writers had ever heard “Live Your Life.” Being available on CD and streaming services was called “too insubstantial” to keep the case alive.
Was there an appeal?
The songwriters’ lawyer said after the March 27, 2025 ruling that they intended to appeal. We could not verify from court records whether an appeal was filed, withdrawn or decided as of October 2026. The Artikal case ended by agreement, so there was nothing to appeal.
What is the talk-box lawsuit about?
Producer Bosko Kante alleges that he licensed his talk-box vocals for the original “Levitating” only. He says three remixes used them without permission. He claims copyright infringement and breach of contract. The court let the copyright claim proceed in September 2024. These are allegations, not findings.
Is there a Levitating class action I can join?
No. Every Levitating case has been a dispute between rights holders. There is no class, no settlement, no claim form and no deadline. For settlements that are actually taking claims, see open class action settlements.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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