Olivia Dean’s song “I’ve Seen It” is facing fresh scrutiny after Bill Withers’ publisher filed a copyright lawsuit alleging the track copied protected parts of “Just the Two of Us.” The complaint was filed October 1 in federal court in Los Angeles and names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing as defendants, according to multiple reports on the filing.
The dispute centers on a song from Dean’s 2025 album The Art of Loving, a record that helped raise her profile well beyond the U.K. What had been a musical comparison in reviews and online discussion is now a formal legal fight.
Lawsuit turns a familiar comparison into a legal claim
Mattie Music Group, which does business as Bleunig Music, says “I’ve Seen It” unlawfully copied musical expression from Withers’ 1981 hit “Just the Two of Us,” co-written by Bill Withers. Music Business Worldwide reported that the seven-page complaint was filed Thursday, October 1, in federal court in Los Angeles under case number 2:26-cv-11383.
Rolling Stone Australia reported that the publisher said the similarities are “obvious and inescapable.” The Guardian reported that the claim focuses on “substantial” aspects of the earlier song. Reuters, in a post linking to its report, said the publisher sued Universal Music Group on Thursday over an Olivia Dean song from The Art of Loving.
The companies named in the suit, not Dean herself, are the focus of the complaint. Reports from The Guardian and other trade outlets said Dean was not named as a defendant. The lawsuit seeks damages and other relief tied to the song’s release and continued exploitation, according to coverage summarizing the complaint.
What is clear is that the comparison is no longer just a matter of taste. The legal complaint targets the business entities tied to the recording and publishing of “I’ve Seen It,” and it arrives after the song had already prompted listeners and some critics to hear echoes of “Just the Two of Us.”
One review published last year by The Independent said that, toward the chorus, Dean “borrows the melody” from the Withers classic. More recently, ABC News described the matter as a song accused of copying “Just the Two of Us.” That means the current attention is tied both to the way the song was received and to the lawsuit now moving through court.
What is not yet clear is how the defendants will respond in court, whether any of the companies will seek dismissal, or whether the parties could settle. The Guardian reported that a Kobalt representative declined to comment, and the available reports do not show a court ruling or a public response from all defendants.
Copyright cases over songs often turn on narrow questions about melody, protectable expression and whether a similarity is legally significant. In this case, the publisher says the overlap with “Just the Two of Us” crosses that line. Coverage of the complaint says the publisher had already contacted the companies involved before filing suit and accused them of continuing to distribute and exploit the track.
That timing matters because it frames the lawsuit as more than a surprise complaint after release. It also helps explain why the case was filed now, after The Art of Loving came out in 2025 and after “I’ve Seen It” had time to circulate.
The next step is likely to come through court filings in the Central District of California, where the case was filed. For now, the confirmed facts are limited: a lawsuit was filed October 1, the claim concerns “I’ve Seen It” and “Just the Two of Us,” and the companies named in the complaint now face a legal test over whether the comparison listeners heard amounts to copyright infringement.