Olivia Dean’s song “I’ve Seen It” is at the center of a new copyright lawsuit claiming the track copied the distinctive melody of Bill Withers’ Grammy-winning “Just the Two of Us.”
Mattie Music Group filed the complaint on October 1, 2026, in federal court in Los Angeles against Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing America. The publisher claims “I’ve Seen It,” which appears on Dean’s hit album The Art of Loving, takes significant portions of the earlier song without permission or credit.
Dean is not named as a defendant. Neither are co-writers Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang. Mattie Music instead sued the companies it says distributed the recording or licensed and profited from its publishing rights.
The dispute centers on the musical composition rather than simply the overall sound or style of the two recordings. Mattie Music alleges “I’ve Seen It” repeatedly copies a distinctive, protectable melody from “Just the Two of Us.”
According to the complaint, representatives for Mattie Music listened to Dean’s song several times in August and reached what they described as the “obvious and inescapable” conclusion that it copied the Withers composition “in large and significant part.”
The publisher then hired musicologist Alexander Stewart to compare the works. The complaint says Stewart found substantial similarities in protectable musical expression, including repeated use of the melody at the center of Mattie Music’s claim.
Mattie Music also argues that the number, character, and arrangement of the similarities point to copying rather than independent creation or the use of musical elements commonly available to songwriters.
Copyright law can protect original melody and other musical expression, but not a genre, style, or basic building blocks used throughout popular music. Mattie Music will ultimately have to show that “I’ve Seen It” copied protected elements of the earlier composition.
The publisher is also relying on the long history of “Just the Two of Us” to support its allegation that Dean and her co-writers had an opportunity to hear the song before creating “I’ve Seen It.” The complaint cites its chart success, Grammy recognition, decades of radio play, streaming availability, and numerous cover versions.
“Just the Two of Us,” written by Withers, Ralph MacDonald and William Salter, was released as a single in 1981 by jazz saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. with Withers on vocals. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Mattie Music says it notified the defendants on or around August 17, 2026, of its copyright and the alleged similarities between the songs. According to the lawsuit, the companies continued distributing, licensing, performing, and commercially exploiting “I’ve Seen It” afterward.
The publisher alleges that conduct amounts to willful copyright infringement. It is seeking its losses and profits attributable to the alleged infringement or, alternatively, statutory damages, which can reach $150,000 for a copyrighted work when infringement is found to be willful.
Mattie Music is also asking the court for an injunction barring further infringement, along with attorneys’ fees and costs.
The lawsuit comes as Dean’s profile has risen following the release of The Art of Loving in September 2025. The British singer-songwriter won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in February 2026, while songs including “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” helped propel the album commercially.
The defendants have yet to answer the complaint. The case will turn on whether the similarities identified by Mattie Music involve musical expression protected by copyright or elements that remain free for other songwriters to use.
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