Bill Withers publisher’s lawsuit puts a soul classic at the center of a copyright fight

A publisher connected to Bill Withers’s catalog has opened a new copyright case over Olivia Dean’s song I’ve Seen It. Mattie Music Group, doing business as Bleunig Music, filed the complaint October 1 in federal court in Los Angeles. It alleges that Dean’s 2025 album closer copied protectable musical expression from Just the Two of Us, the 1981 soul standard Withers co-wrote with Ralph MacDonald and William Salter.

The allegation is serious, but it is not a court finding. No judge or jury has ruled that infringement occurred, and the defendants have not yet presented a response in the public reporting reviewed for this article. Dean herself is not named as a defendant. The complaint instead names Capitol Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Publishing and Kobalt Music Publishing America, companies involved in the recording or publishing of I’ve Seen It.

What the complaint alleges

According to the filing, Mattie Music Group hired musicologist Alexander Stewart after representatives heard I’ve Seen It in August. The complaint says his preliminary comparison found substantial similarities in protectable expression, including what the plaintiff calls repeated copying of the older song’s distinctive melody. That analysis was commissioned by the plaintiff; it should not be treated as neutral proof or a judicial conclusion.

The filing says the publisher notified the four defendants on August 17 and identified the registration, accused composition and claimed musical similarities. It alleges that distribution, licensing and performance of I’ve Seen It continued afterward. The plaintiff is seeking damages, profits it says are attributable to the alleged infringement, legal costs and an injunction that could restrain future use of the song. Those are requested remedies, not awards that have already been granted.

Who is—and is not—being sued

The defendants’ roles matter because music copyright disputes often separate the composition from the commercial recording. The complaint says Capitol and UMG distributed and exploited the recording, while Sony and Kobalt handled publishing rights. It also alleges that Dean and co-writers Bastian Langebæk and Max Wolfgang had a reasonable opportunity to encounter Just the Two of Us before creating their song, but it does not sue the three writers individually.

As of October 2, representatives for Dean, Capitol and Kobalt had not responded to requests for comment reported by The Guardian, and People reported no immediate response from any of the named defendants. Reuters likewise reported that a UMG spokesperson had not immediately commented. Kobalt separately declined comment to Billboard, according to The Guardian. The Black Angle will update this report if a substantive answer or court ruling changes the record.

A legacy with commercial weight

Just the Two of Us has an unusually visible legacy behind the claim. Grover Washington Jr. recorded the song with Withers on lead vocals, and it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Recording Academy lists Withers, MacDonald and Salter as the winners of the 1982 Grammy for best R&B song. Those achievements show how widely the work circulated, but popularity alone does not decide whether another composition is legally infringing.

I’ve Seen It closes Dean’s 2025 album The Art of Loving. The case arrives during a major year for the British singer, who won the 2026 Grammy for best new artist. Her commercial success raises the financial stakes, yet it does not prove copying. Copyright cases generally turn on legally protectable expression, access and substantial similarity—not on whether two songs create a similar mood or whether one performer is more famous than another.

A filing is not a verdict

For Withers’s family and publishing interests, the case is also about stewardship of a Black songwriting legacy whose work remains commercially active decades after release. That interest deserves careful reporting without converting an allegation into a verdict. For Dean and the companies behind her song, the next meaningful development will be a formal legal response, settlement or court decision. Until then, the verified fact is that a complaint has been filed and its central claims remain contested rather than established.