When does inspiration become imitation? British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean is at the center of a copyright dispute over her song “I’ve Seen It,” which allegedly bears similarities to Bill Withers’ 1981 hit “Just the Two of Us.”
Olivia Dean performing her newest hit “Man I Need” at the 68th.
| AP News, Chris Pizzello |
Mattie Music Group, which identifies as Bleuing Music and owns rights to part of Withers’ music catalog, filed a lawsuit on Oct. 1 in federal court in California. The lawsuit alleges that Dean’s song copies a large portion of Withers’ hit.
Sophomore Cassidy Boltz is a fan of Dean and said she did not notice similarities between the two songs when listening to Dean’s music.
“I’ve listened to Dean’s song many times and never thought for a second that it was copyrighting or too similar to Withers’ song,” said Boltz.
According to the BBC, the music expert Alexander Stewart identified strong similarities between the two songs. Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records have been named in the case, while Dean and her co-writers have not. The allegations have not been proven in court, and Dean has not publicly commented on the case.
Released in 1981, “Just the Two of Us” features Withers on vocals and saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. Following its release, the song reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains popular today. The lawsuit has brought attention to the classic and questions about how much inspiration one artist can draw from another’s work.
Dean’s “I’ve Seen It,” featured on her 2025 album “The Art of Loving,” is a soft love song that blends modern pop and soul. Mattie Music Group argued that the similarities between
the songs go beyond artistic influence and incorporate elements from Withers’ composition without permission, according to The Guardian.
However, similarities between songs do not automatically constitute copyright infringement. According to The Lovell Firm, songs can share chord progressions, rhythms and instruments without violating copyright law. The legal question is whether protected original elements of one song have been copied.
Boltz believes artists should be able to be inspired by earlier music while still making their work distinct.
“I believe artists should be able to take inspiration from prior music as long as they make it their own and change it in a way that won’t cause speculation and most importantly give credit where credit is due,” said Boltz.
Although Dean’s song features different lyrics and arrangements, the dispute raises questions about whether similarities in melody and other elements cross the line from influence into copyright infringement.
According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the copyright law Title 17 does not technically protect every musical piece. Rather, it protects the originality of an older song that could be sampled by another artist at any time, if given rights to it. Determining whether copyright is active in this case isn’t based on opinion but rather is seen through listening for different key musical elements in both compositions.
This dispute recalls another high-profile copyright case involving Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams’ 2013 song “Blurred Lines,” which was compared to Marvin Gaye’s 1977 hit “Got to Give It Up.”
Thicke filed a lawsuit to ensure that Gaye’s family got no share of the earnings made from “Blurred Lines,” but also admitted that he drew most inspiration for the song from Gaye’s composition. In March 2015, Williams and Thicke was sued for $7.4 billion, the largest amount that has ever been granted for a copyright case.
For some listeners, copyright disputes highlight the importance of protecting musicians’ work while allowing artists to build on existing musical influences.
“It’s a tough situation because I think copyright laws are extremely important in order to give the artist credit for their work, but people still need to leave space for artists to continue to draw inspiration from older songs,” said graduate student Ava Denicker.
Olivia Dean won Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards and the BET Awards, and is 11th on the Billboard Artist 100 chart as of the week of Oct. 17.
