Olivia Dean faces plagiarism allegations over 'I've Seen It'
What's the story
British pop sensation Olivia Dean is facing copyright infringement allegations over her song I've Seen It, from her Brit Award-winning 2025 album The Art of Loving. The complaint was filed in California by Mattie Music Group, which manages the late Bill Withers's catalog. They claim Dean's track shares "musical features" with Withers's classic Just The Two of Us that are "so striking" that "they support an inference that the similarities did not result from coincidence, independent creation, or...common musical elements."
Legal details
Dean not named as defendant in lawsuit
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, names Dean's record label Capitol Records, the parent company Universal Music Group, and her publishing companies as defendants, per the BBC.
However, it does not seek damages from Dean or her co-writers Bastian Langebaek and Max Wolfgang.
To prove plagiarism, Mattie Music Group must show that Dean and her co-writers had prior access to Withers's original composition.
Song similarities
'I've Seen It' is an acoustic ballad about love
The lawsuit alleges that the "extraordinary and sustained" commercial success of Withers's song, including "decades of radio play," would have given Dean and her co-writers a "reasonable opportunity" to hear Just The Two of Us before writing I've Seen It.
I've Seen It is an acoustic ballad about different kinds of love, while Just The Two of Us was a hit for Withers in 1981.
Song details
More about 'Just The Two of Us'
I've Seen It is the final track on Dean's breakthrough album, released in September 2025.
The song discusses different types of love she's experienced in her life. It has been streamed about 246 million times on Spotify.
On the other hand, Withers's track was a collaboration with saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. and was originally released under his name.
It peaked at number two on the US charts in 1981 and won Withers a Grammy for best R&B song.
Awaiting response
Meanwhile, Grammy and Brit Award recognition for Dean
The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, Dean won the Best New Artist award at this year's Grammys, while The Art of Loving peaked at number three in the US and number one in the UK.
It was named Album of the Year at the Brit Awards.