Bill Withers Publisher Sues Olivia Dean Label Over Just the Two of Us Melody

Copyright lawsuit filed in California

Mattie Music Group, the rights owner for Bill Withers' music catalogue, filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on 1 October 2026 in the US District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint alleges that British singer Olivia Dean and her fellow songwriters copied Withers' 1981 soul hit Just the Two of Us in large and significant part when composing her song I've Seen It. The legal action names Dean's record label Capitol Records, parent corporation Universal Music Group, and her publishing companies as defendants. The filing seeks financial damages and an injunction permanently restraining the companies from continuing to distribute the track, but it does not seek damages from Dean herself or her co-writers Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang.

Musicological claims of melodic copying

Legal documents state that Mattie Music Group hired a musicologist to conduct an analysis of I've Seen It. The specialist concluded that Dean's song contains substantial similarities in protectable musical expression to Just the Two of Us, pointing specifically to repeated copying of the original melody. The claimants argue in their filing that the two works share musical features so striking that the overlap could not have occurred through coincidence alone. The publisher also stated that it delivered a formal written notice regarding the material musical similarities to the defendants in August 2026, though the record label maintained the track in commercial release.

Legal standard of access to Withers' hit

To prove copyright infringement under US law, the claimants must establish that Dean and her collaborators had access to Withers' work before writing their own. In the lawsuit, Mattie Music Group contends that Just the Two of Us achieved extraordinary and sustained commercial success, backed by decades of radio airplay, providing the musicians with reasonable opportunity to have heard the song before composing I've Seen It. Withers originally released the track in 1981, winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song that same year. The song later experienced a commercial resurgence in 2020 on TikTok, several months after Withers died at the age of 81.

Chart history and album background

I've Seen It serves as the closing track on Dean's second studio album, The Art of Loving, which was released in September 2025. The album reached number one on charts across the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, later securing Album of the Year honors at both the Brit Awards and the MOBO Awards in 2026. Three earlier singles from the record, Nice to Each Other, Man I Need, and So Easy (To Fall in Love), all reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart in August 2025. Dean, 27, also spent 19 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the UK singles chart alongside Sam Fender for their collaborative track Rein Me In. Universal Music Group, Capitol Records, and Dean's representatives have not yet filed a formal legal response.