Olivia Dean accused of copying Bill Withers' Just The Two of Us
British pop star Olivia Dean is facing a lawsuit from the publishers of Bill Withers' estate, who allege her song 'I've Seen It' plagiarizes the melody of the 1981 classic 'Just The Two of Us'. The legal action targets her record label and publishers rather than the artist herself, citing expert musicological analysis.
Why it matters
This case highlights the ongoing legal challenges regarding copyright infringement in the music industry and the difficulty of proving subconscious versus intentional plagiarism.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The lawsuit seeks damages from Dean's publisher and record label, but not from the star herself
Music correspondent Published 24 minutes ago British pop star Olivia Dean has been accused of copying the melody of Bill Withers' soul classic Just The Two of Us in a legal case filed in California.
The complaint centres around Dean's song I've Seen It, taken from her Brit Award-winning 2025 album The Art of Loving.
Just The Two of Us was a hit for Withers in 1981, and the publishers of the late singer's catalogue allege that the two songs "share musical features" that are "so striking" they cannot have arisen by coincidence alone.
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