This signifies the third legal action concerning the popular singer’s successful song.
Dua Lipa and Warner Music are facing their third copyright lawsuit related to the hit song “Levitating.”
The most recent legal action was initiated by music producer Bosko Kante, who claims that the pop star used his “talk box” recording in her remixes of “Levitating” without obtaining proper permission. Kante asserts that the “talk box” track was originally created for the song’s original version but was not authorized for use in subsequent remixes, including the version featuring DaBaby.
According to the lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday, July 31, Kante tried to resolve the matter amicably outside of court, but the defendants allegedly showed no willingness to cooperate or acknowledge the infringement of Kante’s copyrights.
Kante, known for his talk box performances with artists like Kanye West and Big Boi, is the CEO and co-founder of ElectroSpit talkbox, a digital version of the talk box—an instrument that modifies sound through a person’s mouth.
The lawsuit alleges that back in 2014, Stephen Kozmeniuk, one of the producers of “Levitating,” approached Kante to create a talk box performance for the original release of the song. After Kante produced the performance, he claims there was a verbal agreement with Kozmeniuk that allowed his work to be used in the original version of “Levitating.”
However, Kante states that the agreement didn’t explicitly permit the use of his performance in any remixes beyond the original version. As a result, Dua Lipa and Warner Music allegedly didn’t have permission to use his work in the remixes, including those featuring The Blessed Madonna with Madonna and Missy Elliott or with Da Baby.
According to Kante’s legal team, all three remixes used more of his work than what was present in the original version, and no authorization or permission was sought from Kante for the use of his composition or sound recording in those remixes.
As of now, representatives for Dua Lipa and Warner Music Group have not responded to the claims.
“Levitating” was a major hit from Dua Lipa’s second studio album, “Future Nostalgia,” and remained on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for an impressive 77 weeks.
In a separate case last month, Dua Lipa and Warner Records were successful in having a copyright case related to “Levitating” dismissed, which had been filed by the reggae band Artikal Sound System.
In March of the previous year, the band filed a lawsuit against the pop star, claiming that her 2020 song resembled their 2017 song’s hook. However, they were unable to establish that the writers of “Levitating” had access to their song “Live Your Life,” which they alleged was copied.
In March 2022, Dua Lipa faced another copyright infringement lawsuit for “Levitating.” This time, the legal action was brought by two songwriters who asserted that the song bore significant similarities to the 1979 track “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” by Cory Daye, written by L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer.
According to the complaint obtained by PEOPLE, the lawyers representing Brown and Linzer argued that the “signature melody” of “Levitating” was a replica of the opening melody found in “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and the 1980 song “Don Diablo” by Miguel Bosé, which they also hold the copyright for.
The complaint highlighted that the notes in both melodies move in the same direction with evenly matched intervals or “steps,” and they share almost identical rhythms. It was noted that the opening melody appears six times in the original “Levitating” track and three times in the remix featuring DaBaby. However, no ruling has been issued in this case yet.