The lawsuit, filed by Larball Publishing Company and Sandy Linzer Productions, accused Lipa of copying elements from ‘Wiggle and Giggle All Night’ by Cory Daye and ‘Don Diablo’ by Miguel Bosé. The plaintiffs claimed ‘Levitating’ unlawfully used a distinctive musical phrase from their songs. However, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected these claims in her ruling on Thursday.

In her decision, Judge Failla concluded that the alleged similarities involved “five groupings of repeated 16th notes descending on a B minor scale in ‘Levitating’, compared to a D major scale in ‘Don Diablo‘.” She determined that this descending scale pattern, along with a single additional note described as a “signature melody,” was not subject to copyright protection.

“The Court ultimately concludes that there can be no substantial similarity (and thus no copyright violation) as a matter of law because the similarity between the works concerns only non-copyrightable elements,” Judge Failla wrote.

The case included notable co-defendants alongside Lipa, such as major music publishers Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Corporation, and Warner Records Inc., as well as her ‘Levitating‘ co-writers Clarence Coffee, Jr., Sarah Hudson, and Stephen Kozmeniuk.

| — @DUALIPA reacting on winning her 2nd & final lawsuit against “Levitating” via Instagram Stories! pic.twitter.com/adlW8CFVVN

— Dua Lipa Hungary (@dlipahungary) March 28, 2025

A key factor in the court’s decision was the precedent set by Ed Sheeran’s victory in a copyright case in November 2024. In Structured Asset Sales, LLC v. Sheeran, the Second Circuit ruled that fundamental musical elements, like notes, rhythms, and chords, are generally not protected under copyright law. While plaintiffs can claim protection over an original arrangement of these elements, the court found that Lipa’s use of a common musical scale did not meet that standard.

Judge Failla also dismissed the plaintiffs’ argument that the pattern style of singing, a pop with a disco feel musical style, and the song’s tempo were evidence of copying. The court noted that such elements are commonplace and not eligible for copyright protection. Additionally, Failla highlighted historical examples, pointing out that the patter style has been used for centuries in the operatic works of Mozart, Rossini, and Gilbert and Sullivan.

The ruling further rejected the notion that protecting such broad musical characteristics would stifle creativity. “To hold otherwise would be to completely foreclose the further development of music in that genre or for that purpose,” Failla stated.

In addition to dismissing the copyright infringement claim, the judge also rejected the plaintiffs’ requests for declaratory relief and an accounting of profits, as those claims were rendered irrelevant by the primary ruling.

This legal win solidifies Lipa’s standing in the industry and reinforces the precedent that fundamental musical elements remain accessible to all artists. For Lipa, the victory means she can continue celebrating the success of ‘Levitating‘ without legal concerns — a resounding conclusion to a contentious battle.

Brown and Linzer went online to address the complaints, stating that, “Defendants have levitated away plaintiffs’ intellectual property, plaintiffs bring suit so that defendants cannot wiggle out of their willful infringement.” No pun intended. They also go on to explain how Lipa highlighted in numerous interviews that her album (Future Nostalgia, obviously) was intentionally emulating the sounds of a different era. They also go on to explain that Lipa’s success with the song came through the shortness of the allegedly infringed hook and its relation to the inherently short nature of any viral TikTok breakout, “Because video creators frequently truncate the already brief snippets of sound on TikTok, the signature melody often comprises 50% or more of these viral videos.”. See ‘Wiggle and Giggle All Night’ below to make up your own mind.

The case is set to go against Lipa, her record label (Warner Music Group), a host of other songwriting and production parties, and even DaBaby – who featured on the song’s remix that came out 6 months later. Lipa is yet to comment on either of the cases. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Musicologist Joe Bennett weighed in on the situation. While the melodies may be similar, copyright infringement is about confluence – and according to Bennett “In my opinion, for what it’s worth, I think this is a coincidence.”