Brief Six: Copyright and Fair Use

 

Dua Lipa and Copyright Infringement

Copyright is defined as, "a type of legal protection for original work such as writing, music, or photography." With this protection, only the creator of the work can reproduce, sell, or display it. These protective measures are in place to make sure there are no intentional (or even unintentional) duplicates of the creator's original work. The ownership of the copyright of one's work allows them to have "exclusive" rights to their work, protecting their work from copyright infringement or violation. 

To receive copyright protection from infringement, the work must: 

(the following information is cited from smallbusiness.com)

• An “original work of authorship” independently created by a human
• “Fixed” in a published or distributed form 
• At least minimally creative

The use of copyright cannot be used for public domain names, such as ideas, methods, names, titles, and well-known information. The copyright laws do extend to works such as movies, books, music, plays, photos, etc. The owner of the copyright is at liberty to allow others to use their work. 

There are several examples in today's entertainment industry that reflect copyright and fair use, and accusations of copyright infringement. The music industry is a prominent field of copyright accusations, with several well-known artists defending their copyright against violations. 

One of the most recent examples revolves around English singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner, Dua Lipa. 

Early this month, two lawsuits have been filed against Dua Lipa's worldwide hit song, "Levitating". 

The first lawsuit was filed on March 1st on behalf of Artikal Sound System, based on their 2017 reggae song "Live Your Life". The second lawsuit was filed on March 4 by the composers of the 1979 disco song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and the 1980 song “Don Diablo", L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer.

First Lawsuit Description- Artikal Sound System

The defense of Brown and Linzer claims that Dua Lipa admitted to "drawing inspiration" from different artists for the creation of her most recent album. The Brown and Linzer defense commented "Defendants have levitated away plaintiffs’ intellectual property" in regards to this lawsuit and Dua Lipa. 

Since Dua Lipa admitted to finding inspiration for her newest album through past disco-era songs, Brown and Linzer feel confident in their case against Lipa's copyright infringement. 

The defense made a statement in regards to Lipa's admittance to pulling inspiration from past songs, stating that Dua Lipa and other defendants "cannot wiggle out of their willful infringement."

According to the Brown and Linzer defense, Lipa's song "Levitating" and 1979 disco tune "Wiggle and Giggle All Night Long" share "substantially similar" sounds, and that the disco song's signature melody is used as an "exact duplicate" in Dua Lipa's new song. 

Wiggle and Giggle All Night Long- Cory Daye (1979)

Levitating- Dua Lipa (2020)

The copyright infringement claims against Dua Lipa have not officially been settled and there is an "unspecified" amount being asked by the plaintiffs, for the damages suffered due to the "lost profits to be proven at trial". 

As of right now, Dua Lipa or her representatives have not made a comment or a statement regarding the trials.