M&C in the news: Kirsten Gilbert comments on Olivia Dean copyright claim

When similarities between songs become the subject of copyright litigation, the debate often extends beyond the works themselves to broader questions about creativity, inspiration and infringement.

Commenting in Business Matters, Solicitors Journal, and Music Radar, Kirsten Gilbert discussed the copyright claim brought by the publishers of Bill Withers' catalogue, alleging that Olivia Dean's song I've Seen It copies the melody of the 1981 hit Just The Two of Us. The claim has been brought against the relevant record label and publishing companies and has not yet been tested in court.

Kirsten highlighted that the dispute is likely to revisit a familiar question in music copyright law: at what point do similarities between songs amount to copyright infringement? She noted that the issue has remained the subject of considerable debate in recent years, particularly as artists and rights holders continue to navigate the balance between originality and the realities of music composition.

Subscribe to receive more articles like this here.

The debate has been around since Ed Sheeran publicly criticised what he described as baseless claims in circumstances where there are ‘only so many notes and very few chords used in pop music… coincidences are bound to happen'.