Olivia Dean’s song “I’ve Seen It” faces a federal copyright infringement lawsuit filed on Thursday, October 1, 2026, in US federal court in Los Angeles by Mattie Music Group, which alleges the track copies the melody of Bill Withers’ 1981 classic “Just the Two of Us.”
The complaint names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, and Kobalt Music Publishing America as defendants. It does not name Dean or her co-writers as defendants.
Musicologist Finds Substantial Similarities in Protectable Melody
They concluded it copied “in large and significant part” the original work.
Mattie Music Group hired musicologist Alexander Stewart to analyze the tracks. Stewart concluded that the two songs “contain substantial similarities in protectable musical expression, including repeated copying of the distinctively protectable melody.”
The publisher contends the similarities are too striking to result from coincidence or independent creation.
The Legacy of Bill Withers
Mattie Music Group administers the back catalog of the late Bill Withers. Withers died in March 2020 at age 81.
“Just the Two of Us,” a collaboration between Withers and Grover Washington Jr., reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
The track recently experienced a resurgence in popularity as a viral sound on the TikTok social media platform, according to reporting from the Guardian and Billboard.
The publisher is run by Withers’ widow, Marcia Johnson. It takes its name from the singer’s late mother, Mattie.
The Rise of The Art of Loving
“I’ve Seen It” is on Olivia Dean’s second studio album, The Art of Loving. It was released in September 2025 through Capitol Records.
The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in January and has spent 52 weeks on the chart, according to Billboard.
Dean, a 27-year-old London native, won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in February 2026. Billboard named her their Rookie of the Year in 2025.
Lawsuit Seeks Injunction and Damages After Written Notice
The seven-page complaint details that the plaintiff sent written notice to each defendant on August 17. This notice identified the alleged musical similarities.
The lawsuit alleges that despite this notice, the defendants “continued reproducing, distributing, licensing, publicly performing and commercially exploiting” the track.
The legal action seeks an injunction to permanently restrain ongoing infringement alongside financial damages to be decided at a trial.
Representatives for Dean, Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Publishing did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Kobalt declined to comment to Billboard.
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