Olivia Dean faces lawsuit over song similarities with Withers hit

Summary

• Olivia Dean is facing legal action over her song “I’ve Seen It,” with the music publisher of Bill Withers alleging that the track copies elements of his iconic 1981 hit “Just the Two of Us.” A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed on Thursday, October 1, in the U.S.
• According to the complaint, “I’ve Seen It” copied what Bleunig considers the “distinctively protectable melody” of “Just the Two of Us.” Withers co-wrote the 1981 song with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter while he was under contract with Bleunig Music.
• Still, the complaint alleges that the three songwriters “had a reasonable opportunity to encounter” Withers’ song before writing and recording “I’ve Seen It.” Bleunig is asking the court to permanently prevent further use of the song in its current form.

AI Generated Summary

Olivia Dean is facing legal action over her song “I’ve Seen It,” with the music publisher of Bill Withers alleging that the track copies elements of his iconic 1981 hit “Just the Two of Us.”

A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed on Thursday, October 1, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Mattie Music Group, doing business as Bleunig Music, accused Universal Music Group, Capitol Records, Sony Music Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing of unlawfully using protected musical elements from Withers’ song.

The publisher described the similarities between the two tracks as “obvious and inescapable,” arguing that Dean’s song reproduces a substantial portion of the earlier composition.