Bill Withers publisher sues over Olivia Dean song
The US case centres on alleged similarities between Dean’s song and the classic Just the Two of Us.
The publisher of Bill Withers’s music catalogue has filed a copyright lawsuit in California over a song by British singer Olivia Dean. According to the complaint, her song I’ve Seen It allegedly copied protected musical elements from Just the Two of Us.
Mattie Music Group, which manages the rights to part of Withers’s catalogue, filed the case on 1 October in the federal court for the Central District of California. The parties named as defendants include record company Capitol Records, Universal Music Group and music publishers. According to public summaries, Dean and her co-writers are not personally named as defendants.
The complaint concerns I’ve Seen It, a song on Dean’s 2025 album The Art of Loving. The publisher says the two songs display striking similarities and that, in particular, a recognisable melody was allegedly copied repeatedly. These characterisations come from the complaint and are not a ruling by the court.
According to the documents, Mattie Music Group had the songs compared by a musicologist. The expert is said to have concluded that there were substantial similarities in copyright-protected musical expression. The case must still establish which similarities are legally relevant and whether they go beyond general musical patterns.
The claimant also says that the earlier hit was so well known through years of radio broadcasts that Dean and her co-writers could probably have been aware of the song. In US copyright cases, access to the earlier work can play a role, but similarities alone do not yet prove legal infringement.
According to reports, the publisher is seeking damages, an accounting for profits and an order to prevent further infringement. According to the complaint, the music remained available after a warning in August and was exploited commercially. The record companies involved had not yet issued a substantive response in the sources consulted.
The case is therefore an allegation at an early stage, not a finding that Dean committed plagiarism. A judge must first assess whether the alleged musical elements are protected by copyright, whether they were actually copied and which parties may be legally responsible.
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The reporting consistently distinguishes between the complaint and proven infringement. The parties to the case, the song involved and the alleged similarities were checked against multiple public sources.
- confirmed Mattie Music Group filed a copyright lawsuit in California on 1 October. — This is reported by The Independent and Rolling Stone. source
- confirmed The case concerns I’ve Seen It and Just the Two of Us. — Both sources describe the same songs as the subject of the complaint. source
- confirmed The complaint says that a musicologist found substantial musical similarities. — The claim appears in the court documents described by multiple media outlets. source
- confirmed Dean and her co-writers are not personally named as defendants. — The case description names record companies and publishers as defendants and excludes Dean and her co-writers. source
- confirmed There has not yet been a court ruling on plagiarism. — The reporting concerns a newly filed complaint; no ruling is reported. source
Editor's note
It is certain that a US copyright lawsuit has been filed and what the claimant alleges in it. There has not yet been a court ruling, and according to the sources consulted, the defendant music companies have not yet issued a substantive response.Sources
- Olivia Dean’s ‘Art of Loving’ Song Accused of Copying Bill Withers’ ‘Just the Two of Us’ — Rolling Stone
- Olivia Dean accused of copying Bill Withers’ song ‘Just the Two of Us’ — The Independent
- Bill Withers’ Publisher Sues Record Label and Publishers Over Olivia Dean Song — Nooktoria Legal Resource
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „olivia dean”
- RTL Nieuws — „olivia dean”
- NOS — „olivia dean”