Publishers of Bill Withers' catalog have filed a lawsuit alleging that Olivia Dean's song "I've Seen It" copies the melody of the 1981 hit "Just The Two of Us."
Key facts
- •The song "I've Seen It" is the closing track of Olivia Dean's 2025 album, The Art of Loving.
- •Bill Withers' "Just The Two of Us" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award.
- •The lawsuit names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing, and Kobalt Music Publishing America as defendants.
- •Mattie Music Group alleges the defendants continued to exploit the song after being notified of the claims in August 2026.
- •"I've Seen It" has been streamed approximately 246 million times on Spotify, while "Just The Two of Us" has reached 948 million plays.
Mattie Music Group, which manages the late Bill Withers' music catalog, has filed a lawsuit in California alleging that British pop star Olivia Dean's song "I've Seen It" infringes on the melody of Withers' 1981 classic "Just The Two of Us." The complaint names Dean's record label, Capitol Records, and parent company Universal Music Group, alongside her publishing companies, as defendants. Dean and her co-writers are not named as defendants in the legal action.
By the numbers
Allegations of Musical Similarity
The lawsuit claims that the shared musical features between the two tracks are "so striking" that they could not have occurred by coincidence. Mattie Music Group hired musicologist Alexander Stewart, Ph.D., to conduct an analysis, which concluded that the songs contain substantial similarities and that Dean's track copied a "distinctively protectable melody" from the Withers original. The publishers argue that because of the "extraordinary and sustained" commercial success and decades of radio play for "Just The Two of Us," the songwriters had a reasonable opportunity to have encountered the track before writing "I've Seen It."
Legal Action and Response
According to the court documents, Mattie Music Group claims they notified the defendants of the potential infringement in August 2026 but that the song remained in distribution. The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined at trial. As of the filing, the defendants have not responded to the allegations, and representatives for Dean have been contacted for comment.
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This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by BBC Entertainment & Arts, Hollywood Reporter.
