Katy Perry Wins “Dark Horse” Copyright Case!
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Katy Perry will not have to give up any of her Dark Horse money as the federal appeals court on March 10 refused to reinstate a $2.8 million copyright infringement verdict against the pop star.
Flame, whose legal name is Marcus Gray, sued Perry back in 2014, accusing her of ripping off his song Joyful Noise. The Jurors initially gave him the verdict, but a judge overturned that decision in 2020, saying that the rhythm she allegedly copied was too simple for copyright protection.
By a 3-to-0 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit came up with a decision on Thursday, saying action against Perry would have dangerous consequences for future creativity.
“Allowing a copyright over this material would essentially amount to allowing an improper monopoly over two-note pitch sequences or even the minor scale itself, especially in light of the limited number of expressive choices available when it comes to an eight-note repeated musical figure,” the court says.
Christine Lepera, an attorney who represented Capitol Records, told Billboard that she and her client were “very pleased” with a ruling that “recognized the importance of a court’s gatekeeping function in determining whether the claimed musical similarities in a case — alone or in combination — rise to the level of copyrightable expression.”
Perry’s attornies did not comment.
