Pop star Dua Lipa is being sued over claims she was never given permission to include a musician’s “talk box” recording in her mega-hit Levitating.
Music producer Bosko Kante claims three remixes of the British singer’s track featured his recording which infringed his copyright.
He believes he is entitled to more than $20m (£15.7m) in profit from the tracks and has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles.
Kante cites an alleged spoken agreement that only the section of the recording he created with his smartwatch could be used in the song’s original recording.
He says he created the ElectroSpit Talk Box – a device worn around the neck and connected to a phone or synthesiser that can turn vocal vibrations into instrument-like noises.
On his website, Kante states he has played the Talk Box on tracks by the likes of Kanye West and rapper J Cole.
Music producer Stephen Kozmeniuk approached Kante in 2019 about creating a Talk Box track for Levitating, the lawsuit says.
It adds they verbally agreed to a licence stipulating that the recording could only be used on the original song and not on remixes.
Kante alleges Lipa reused his work without permission on remixes by DJ The Blessed Madonna, one with rapper DaBaby and another that Lipa performed live.
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Third lawsuit over Levitating
Kante’s case is the third such lawsuit brought against Lipa and her track Levitating.
Artikal Sound System, a reggae band in Florida, brought a lawsuit against the singer in March 2022, alleging the song copied the hook of their 2017 track Live Your Life.
The case was dismissed in June.
In another case which is ongoing, songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer allege Lipa used their melody from the 1979 sing Wiggle And Giggle All Night.
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Levitating was a top five hit in the UK and became the longest-charting song by a female artist on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, spending a total of 77 weeks on the chart
Lipa is currently racing up the charts with her track from the Barbie movie, Dance The Night.
Sky News has approached the singer’s spokesperson for comment.
