Olivia Dean Faces Plagiarism Lawsuit Over Bill Withers Classic

Grammy-winning artist Olivia Dean is facing a significant copyright infringement lawsuit, accused of plagiarizing the Bill Withers classic “Just the Two of Us.” Mattie Music Group, which owns Withers’ back catalogue, filed the suit in a US federal court in Los Angeles, contending that Dean’s track “I’ve Seen It” infringes on the 1981 hit.

The lawsuit alleges that Dean’s “I’ve Seen It,” the final track on her 2025 album “The Art of Loving,” copies “substantial” aspects of Withers’ collaboration with Grover Washington Jr. Mattie Music Group stated that upon listening to Dean’s song, representatives found “obvious and inescapable” similarities, including repeated copying of the “distinctively protectable melody.”

To bolster their claim, Mattie Music Group enlisted musicologist Alexander Stewart, who concluded that the two works share “substantial similarities in protectable musical expression.” The group highlighted that

the number, character, and arrangement of the shared musical features are so striking that they support an inference that the similarities did not result from coincidence, independent creation or reliance on common musical elements.

While Dean herself and her collaborators Bastian Langbaek and Max Wolfgang are not listed as defendants in the lawsuit, the filing does claim they “had a reasonable opportunity to encounter the original work before creating I’ve Seen It.” The defendants named are Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records—Dean’s publisher and record label, respectively—along with Kobalt Music Publishing America, Wolfgang’s publisher.

Mattie Music Group asserts that it provided written notice to all defendants on August 17, identifying the alleged infringement. However, the lawsuit claims that despite this, the defendants “continued reproducing, distributing, licensing, publicly performing and commercially exploiting” “I’ve Seen It.” The lawsuit seeks not only damages but also a permanent injunction to prevent further acts of copyright infringement.

Representatives for Dean, Capitol Records, and Kobalt have yet to comment on the lawsuit. Olivia Dean, 27, had a remarkable year, winning a Grammy for best new artist in February and four Brit awards, including Album of the Year for “The Art of Loving.” Her single “Rein Me In” with Sam Fender also became the longest-running No. 1 single in UK history.

Bill Withers, a three-time Grammy winner from West Virginia, passed away in 2020 at the age of 81.

His song “Just the Two of Us” won the 1981 Grammy for Best R&B Song. Mattie Music Group, named after Withers' late mother, is administered by his widow, Marcia Johnson, and is dedicated to preserving his musical legacy.

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