Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal

Source: BBC

Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal

By Mark Savage
BBC Music Correspondent

11 March 2022

Katy Perry will no longer have to pay $2.8m (£2.1m) to a rapper who said she stole his song on her hit Dark Horse.

Marcus Gray sued Perry in 2014, saying she had plagiarised an eight-note riff from his track Joyful Noise.

A jury agreed and awarded him the $2.8m payout, but a judge later overturned that verdict, saying the melody was not "particularly unique or rare".

Upholding that decision, an appeals court said the original verdict could have suffocated musical creativity.

In a 3-0 verdict, the court said Gray had been attempting to claim an "improper monopoly" over conventional "musical building blocks" when he first sued Perry in 2014.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-60705977

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Link to opinion: 20-55401 Marcus Gray v Katheryn Hudson