Washington DC [US], October 3 (ANI): British singer Olivia Dean’s music ‘I’ve Seen It’ has come beneath authorized scrutiny after a music writer accused it of copying components of Bill Withers’ standard 1981 observe ‘Just the Two of Us’.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mattie Music Group, which owns the publishing rights to Withers’ music catalogue, filed a lawsuit in California on Thursday, alleging that Dean’s 2025 music shares placing similarities with the late singer’s hit.
The writer claimed that the similarities between the 2 songs have been “obvious and inescapable”, based on courtroom paperwork obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
In its grievance, Mattie Music Group argued that the shared musical components have been too just like be a coincidence or the results of impartial creation.
“The number, character, and arrangement of the shared musical features are so striking that they support an interference that the similarities did not result from coincidence, independent creation, or reliance on common musical elements,” the grievance acknowledged as per the publication.
The writer stated it first got here throughout ‘I’ve Seen It’ in August 2026 and listened to the observe a number of instances earlier than hiring musicologist Alexander Stewart to look at each songs.
Following his evaluation, the writer alleged that Dean’s observe had “copied in large and significant part” Withers’ music and used its “distinctively protectable melody”.
The lawsuit names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc. as defendants, as per the publication. According to the submitting, Mattie Music Group tried to contact them in August however claimed that the businesses continued to breed, distribute, license and commercially use the music, The Hollywood Reporter stated.
Written by Withers, Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, ‘Just the Two of Us’ was launched in 1981 and have become one of many singer’s best-known songs. The observe reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and gained a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Withers died in March 2020 on the age of 81.
Mattie Music Group is searching for damages, with the quantity to be determined at trial. (ANI)