A federal appeals court has revived a copyright infringement lawsuit against Sam Smith and Normani that claimed their multiplatinum hit “Dancing with a Stranger” ripped off a 2015 song of an identical name.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case, finding that a jury could find that the hooks of the two songs are substantially similar. A California federal judge will reconsider the issue.

The reversal reinforces the appeals courts’ position in recent years warning against the early dismissal of copyright infringement lawsuits over creative works that’s emboldened creators and holders of rights to sue for idea theft. Since 2020, orders in lawsuits implicating Servant, The Shape of Water and the first Pirates of the Caribbean have been overturned.

Sound and Color, which holds the copyright to “Dancing with Strangers” from Jordan Vincent and music duo Skx,...