A song performed by Grammy winner Olivia Dean “copied in large and significant part” from Bill Withers’ hit “Just the Two of Us,” a copyright complaint filed recently in California alleges.
Grammy winner Dean’s mellow love ballad “I’ve Seen It” is at the center of a copyright infringement case brought by the music group that oversees Withers’ catalog. Mattie Music Group, doing business as Bleunig Music, accused Capitol Records and Universal Music, among other co-defendants, of one count of copyright infringement in a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Neither Dean nor her co-writers are named defendants.
The complaint says representatives for the music group in August 2026 “came to what they considered to be the obvious and inescapable conclusion that ‘I’ve Seen It’ copied in large and significant part” the late singer’s “Just the Two of Us” after listening to Dean’s tune several times. “I’ve Seen It” is the final track on Dean’s sophomore album “The Art of Loving,” released in September 2025. Dean is best known for her breakout hits “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” and she won the Grammy Award for best new artist in February. The British singer, 27, composed and co-wrote the lyrics with Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang, according to the song credits on Spotify.
Neither representatives for Dean nor Universal Music Group, which owns Capitol Records, immediately responded on Monday to requests for comment.
Withers, the soul singer also known for enduring hits “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Lean on Me,” and jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. released “Just the Two of Us” in 1981 for the latter’s “Winelight” album. Ralph MacDonald and William Salter wrote the song with Withers, who died of heart complications on March 30, 2020. He was 81.
Mattie Music Group alleges that because of the enduring popularity and success of “Just the Two of Us,” Dean and her collaborators “had a reasonable opportunity to encounter the Original Work before creating ‘I’ve Seen It.’” The complaint takes issue with the song’s “repeated copying of the distinctively protectable melody” and alleges the musicians “clearly infringed” on the copyrights related to Withers’ Grammy-winning song.
The complaint also said Mattie Music Group enlisted the help of musicologist Alexander Stewart to determine “substantial” similarities between the two songs. Stewart “concluded that the works contain substantial similarities in protectable musical expression, including repeated copying of the distinctively protectable melody,” the complaint alleges. The music group also said it notified the defendants on Aug. 17 of “the material musical similarities” but that the defendants “continued reproducing, distributing, licensing, publicly performing and commercially exploiting” Dean’s “I’ve Seen It.”
Mattie Music Group previously brought legal action against rapper Kendrick Lamar in 2016 for allegedly lifting from Withers’ “Don’t You Want to Stay.” That case ended in a settlement.
The complaint states the music group is seeking an injunction from further copyright infringement and an unspecified amount in damages, including defendants’ profits from the alleged infringement, legal fees and statutory damages up to $150,000 for willful infringement.
Dean is on her Art of Loving tour and is scheduled to perform Monday and Tuesday at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Times editorial library director Cary Schneider contributed to this report.
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