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This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Dua Lipa is sued for a third time over her smash hit “Levitating”; Tory Lanez is set to be sentenced for shooting Megan Thee Stallion; Lizzo issues her first response to a shocking harassment lawsuit from former dancers; and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: Dua Lipa Sued Over Levitating – Again.
A year after Dua Lipa was hit with a pair of copyright lawsuits over her mega-hit “Levitating,” the star was sued yet again last week – only this time with very different details.
The two cases filed against Lipa last year (one of which has already been dropped) are what copyright defense attorneys might call “out of the woodwork” lawsuits — accusations filed by little-known musicians who claim a hit song sounds similar to their own, but with little proof that the star ever actually heard the music they’re accused of copying.
The new case filed last week, on the other hand, came from someone who says he was actually involved in the creation of Lipa’s song. Bosko Kante, a producer who has worked previously with major artists like Kanye West and Big Boi, says he was commissioned by her producer to create a so-called “talk box” track for “Levitating.” But, crucially, he says he never granted her the right to use it in subsequent remixes, like the even-more-popular version featuring DaBaby.
“Plaintiff made numerous attempts to resolve this matter short of litigation, but such efforts were unsuccessful, due to defendants’ unwillingness to cooperate or accept responsibility for this blatant infringement of plaintiff’s copyrights,” Kante’s lawyers wrote.
Go read our full story on the new lawsuit against Dua Lipa, including access to the actual complaint filed against her by Kante.
Other top stories this week…
BIG DAY FOR TORY LANEZ – The rapper is set to be sentenced Tuesday for shooting Megan Thee Stallion in the foot, capping off three years of legal drama over the violent 2020 incident. Prosecutors have asked for 13 years; Tory’s lawyers want him to be released on probation. At the start of the hearing on Monday, Megan said she had “not experienced a single day of peace” since the shooting.
“I AM NOT THE VILLAIN” – Lizzo issued her first response to a bombshell lawsuit from three tour dancers who claim that they were subjected to sexual harassment and weight-shaming, calling them “false allegations” and “sensationalized stories.”
1975 KISS LAWSUIT? – The 1975 and lead singer Matty Healy are facing a formal threat of legal action in the UK from the organizers of the Malaysian music festival that was cancelled last month after Healy kissed a male bandmate on stage and sharply criticized the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
JIMMIE ALLEN UPDATE – One of Jimmie Allen‘s sexual assault accusers asked a federal judge to toss out his counterclaim that she stole his cellphone, calling the allegation “nothing more than harassment of a victim and abuse of the judicial process.”
CARDI CLEARED IN MIC TOSS – Las Vegas police dropped a criminal investigation into last weekend’s incident in which Cardi B threw her microphone at a fan who had splashed her with a drink, saying there was “insufficient evidence” to bring criminal battery charges against the star.
TRILLER SETTLES WITH SONY – The social media app disclosed that it had settled a lawsuit from Sony Music accusing it of failing to pay millions in licensing fees for the company’s music. The deal will see Triller pay $4.6 million for breaching its contract, plus an additional undisclosed amount to resolve Sony’s claims of copyright infringement. A similar suit filed by Universal Music Group remains pending against Triller.
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