Mattie Music Group, the entity responsible for managing Withers’ back catalogue, claims that the two compositions share striking musical similarities that cannot be dismissed as coincidental. To support these allegations, the publishers commissioned a musicologist to perform a formal review. According to legal documents, the expert concluded that the works contain substantial similarities, specifically noting what they describe as the repeated copying of the melody from the original Withers track. British pop star Olivia Dean has been accused of copying the melody of Bill Withers’ soul classic Just The Two of Us in a legal case filed in California. And the publishers of the late singer’s catalogue allege that the two songs “share musical features” that are “so striking” they cannot have arisen by coincidence alone, just The Two of Us was a hit for Withers in 1981.
The legal action targets Capitol Records, its parent company Universal Music Group, and Dean’s publishing firms. Notably, the lawsuit does not seek financial damages from the singer herself, nor does it name her co-writers, Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang, as defendants.
Regarding the requirement to prove access to the original work, the claimants argue that the extraordinary and sustained commercial success of Just The Two of Us, bolstered by decades of consistent radio play, provided the musicians with a reasonable opportunity to have encountered the song before writing I’ve Seen It. The publishers report that they formally notified Dean’s record label of the potential infringement this past August, but the track remained in circulation. Taken from her Brit Award-winning 2025 album The Art of Loving, the complaint centres around Dean’s song I’ve Seen It.
As of now, the named defendants have not provided a formal response to the claims. Representatives for Dean and the record labels have been contacted for comment, though no statement has been issued.
