From Dua Lipa to Ariana Grande, 4 Artists Sued for Copyright

Creating original lyrics and beats for music becomes increasingly difficult as the music industry continues to thrive, and many music artists have been sued for stealing lyrics or releasing a song that sounds similar to one already out.

Here are four artists that have been sued for copyright infringement over the years.

Dua Lipa

Most recently, pop singer Dua Lipa has been sued, according to Billboard, for copyright infringement by a reggae band, Artikal Sound System, because they believe their 2017 song "Live Your Life" sounds very similar to her chart-topping hit "Levitating."

"Levitating" comes from Lipa's second studio album released in 2020, Future Nostalgia. The song reached the #2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in May of 2021.

"Live Your Life" is from Artikal Sound System's EP, Smoke and Mirrors, which was released in 2017.

In the court documents, the band claimed that Lipa had enough time to hear their song and copy it, "'Levitating' is substantially similar to 'Live Your Life.' Given the degree of similarity, it is highly unlikely that 'Levitating' was created independently from 'Live Your Life.'"

Ariana Grande

Back at the beginning of 2020, Ariana Grande was sued for copyright infringement for her hit single "7 rings." Josh Stone, stage name DOT, claimed that Grande and the songwriters plagiarised lyrics from his song "You Need It, I Got It."

In the chorus of the song, Grande repeats the lyrics "I want it, I got it." In Stone's song, he repeats "You need it, I got it. You want it, I got it."

Written in the documents, Stone said that one of Grande's producers, Thomas Lee Brown, was present in a conference where "You Need It, I Got It" played. Brown allegedly liked the song and wanted to work with Stone.

"Literally, every single one of the 39 respective notes of 7 RINGS is identical with the 39 notes of I GOT IT from a metrical placement perspective," the court notes said via CNN.

In March 2021, a judge dropped the lawsuit as the defendant claimed that he had "no monopoly over everyday phrases such as 'I got it,'" according to Reuters.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran has been the center of many lawsuits throughout the years. His hit "Thinking Out Loud" was accused of copyright infringement by one of Marvin Gaye's songwriters for "Let's Get It On" which claimed the two songs sounded way too similar not to sue.

In 2019, Ed Townsend co-wrote the 1973 song with Gaye. The judge of the lawsuit heard "substantial similarities between several of the two works' musical elements." Townsend sued Sheeran for $100M, NBC News reported.

The judge had declined Sheeran's request to drop the lawsuit and will be hit with plagiarism charges, according to Republic World.

Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams

The family of Marvin Gaye, who is entitled to the royalties to his songs, sued Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams due to their 2013 song "Blurred Lines" as they claim plagiarised Gaye's song "Got to Give It Up."

Thicke and Williams then countersued the family after they argued that the two songs sounded similar, according to NBC News.

In 2015, the family of the late singer won the long battle.

"'Blurred Lines' and 'Got to Give It Up' are not objectively similar. They differ in melody, harmony, and rhythm. Yet by refusing to compare the two works, the majority establishes a dangerous precedent that strikes a devastating blow to future musicians and composers everywhere," wrote Judge Jacqueline Nguyen.

Thicke and Williams were ordered to pay $5M to Gaye's family.