Dua Lipa and talkbox artist Bosko Kante ended a multi-year copyright lawsuit over the 2020 hit song Levitating through a joint dismissal filed in federal court in Los Angeles on November 9, 2026.
Parties File Joint Dismissal
The two-page filing stated that The entire action is hereby dismissed with prejudice,
meaning Kante cannot bring the same claims again. Under the terms of the agreement, Kante and the defendants will each pay their own legal fees and costs, as reported by Music Business Worldwide.
The filing did not disclose financial terms or state whether the sides reached a settlement. Benjamin added in Rolling Stone, We’ve resolved Bosko’s disputes with Warner.
Benjamin further noted that the resolution benefits all artists that produce, perform, and collaborate on projects released by large labels,
emphasizing that Artist contributions are valuable; and proper use, credit and compensation are important to artists.
British pop star Dua Lipa and "talk box" musician Bosko Kante have agreed to end a copyright lawsuit that accused Lipa of misusing his work in remixes of her hit song "Levitating," according to a filing in Los Angeles federal court. https://t.co/ndQZwololl
Talkbox Artist Claims Oral Deal
Kante specializes in creating music with a talk box—a decades-old device allowing musicians to apply speech sounds onto instrument sounds—and has previously contributed talk box clips to songs by Kanye West and Big Boi, invented his own ElectroSplit device, and composed the theme music for the 1990s sketch comedy series In Living Color.
The suit alleged that no written agreement, including any sort of ‘work for hire’ was ever executed.
Instead, Kante claimed they struck an oral deal under which the defendants were to pay him $1,500, plus a share of neighboring rights based on a split among seven musicians, along with providing a credit and restricting his work solely to the original version of Levitating.
The original complaint sought at least $2 million in damages, plus profits estimated at more than $20 million, and asked the court to bar further exploitation of the remixes.
Two Earlier Copyright Cases Dismissed
Kante’s lawsuit followed two earlier copyright cases filed against Lipa in 2022 over the same hit song. In March 2022, a Florida reggae band named Artikal Sound System claimed Lipa stole the core hook from their 2017 tune Live Your Life,
though that case was dismissed after a judge ruled the band failed to adequately show that the creators of Levitating had ever heard their song.
Dua Lipa ‘Levitating’ Copyright Case Over ‘Talk Box’ Ends With Settlementhttps://t.co/YkVoYoiv44
Later, songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer accused Lipa of ripping off the melody from their 1979 disco tracks Wiggle and Giggle All Night
and Don Diablo,
but that suit was also dismissed after a judge found the shared musical elements were basic building blocks not protected by copyright.
Judge Rejects Dismissal Request
In September 2024, Judge Hernán D. Vera rejected a request by Lipa and her co-defendants to throw out the copyright claim, while granting a separate request to dismiss a claim seeking an accounting of Warner’s earnings from the remixes under federal copyright law.
The defendants had argued that Kante failed to specify which parts of his recording appeared in the remixes. Judge Vera wrote, There is no requirement that Plaintiff be made to identify, second-by-second, which portions were used,
noting that Defendants’ counsel conceded that at least some portion of the Kante Recording was used.
The case had been scheduled to go to trial in March 2027 before the parties agreed to end the litigation.
Dua Lipa ‘Levitating’ Copyright Case Over ‘Talk Box’ Ends With Settlement https://t.co/27V5lHAQAI
Dua Lipa’s breakout hit debuted in 2020, reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent 77 weeks on the chart.