3 Count: Pop Trio

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1: Dua Lipa Hit With Another Copyright Lawsuit Over ‘Levitating’

First off today, Bill Donahue at Billboard reports that pop musician Dua Lipa has been hit with a second lawsuit over her hit song Levitating, as a pair of different accusers have accused her of copyright infringement.

This news lawsuit was filed by songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer. They claim that Levitating is an infringement of their songs Wiggle and Giggle All Night and Don Diablo, released in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Specifically, the duo honed in on the opening melody of Levitating, saying it was a “duplicate” of those songs.

The lawsuit comes just days after Dua Lipa was hit with a separate lawsuit over the song. That one was filed by members of the reggae band Artikal Sound, who claimed that Levitating was an infringement of their 2017 track Live Your Life.

2: Ed Sheeran is a ‘Magpie’ Who ‘borrows’ Ideas, Copyright Trial Hears

Next up today, Nadia Khomami at The Guardian reports that musician Ed Sheeran is facing a trial in the UK over allegations that his 2017 hit song Shape of You was a copyright infringement of an earlier work.

The lawsuit was filed by musicians Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue, who claim that Shape of You infringes on their 2015 work Oh Why. Specifically, they claim that the song copies “particular lines and phrases” from their piece.

The lawsuit was filed in 2018, and Sheeran attempted to get the lawsuit tossed without any luck. Since then, the lawsuit has delved into questions about “unconscious copying” and whether Sheeran is a “magpie”. Sheeran previously gave writing credits to the composers behind the 90s TLC hit No Scrubs following similar comparisons.

3: Sam Smith, Normani Sued For ‘Obvious’ Infringement on ‘Dancing With A Stranger’

Finally today, Nancy Dillon at Rolling Stone reports that Sam Smith Normani are facing a lawsuit over their 201y song entitled Dancing with a Stripper.

The lawsuit was filed by a trio of songwriters, who alleged that the duet was an infringement of their 2015 song Dancing with a Stranger. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that the hook and chorus of both songs are nearly identical, with other lyrical and melody similarities.

According to the lawsuit, they contacted the defendants in November 2020 about the similarities but failed to explain the similarities, prompting the lawsuit. The lawsuit is seeking punitive damages and also lists others involved with the song itself, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and EMI Music Publishing.

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