Pop superstar Dua Lipa emerged victorious in a copyright infringement lawsuit over her hit song "Levitating" after a New York federal judge dismissed the case on March 27, 2025.
Judge Katherine Failla granted summary judgment in favor of Lipa, rejecting claims that "Levitating" copied elements from two older songs - the 1979 disco track "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" and 1980's Spanish-language "Don Diablo."
The lawsuit, filed in 2022 by Larball Publishing Company and songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, alleged that Lipa used the "signature melody" from "Wiggle and Giggle All Night" multiple times in "Levitating." The plaintiffs claimed the disputed elements appeared in about one-third of Lipa's song.
In her ruling, Judge Failla determined that the musical elements in question - described as "one descending scale plus one additional identical note" - could not be protected by copyright. The judge also emphasized that general musical styles like "pop with a disco feel" or functional purposes such as "entertainment and dancing" cannot be copyrighted, as this would prevent further development of music in those genres.
While the court accepted expert testimony from both sides regarding technical musical analysis, Judge Failla excluded portions containing legal conclusions that would "usurp the role of the factfinder."
This victory marks the end of one of several copyright challenges Lipa has faced over "Levitating," which was released in October 2020 as part of her "Future Nostalgia" album.