Katy Perry wins 'Dark Horse' copyright lawsuit against Marcus Gray

Katy Perry has been facing a copyright lawsuit for almost a decade against her song Dark Horse. Recently, a federal appeals court ruled in favour of the singer in the copyright case against rapper Marcus Gray. Here's how the years-long lawsuit ended in favour of the award-winning singer. 

As per a recent report by Variety, a federal appeals court ruled in favour of Katy Perry on Thursday, March 10, 2022. Rapper Marcus Gray, who goes by his stage name Flame, sued Perry in 2014, claiming her track Dark Horse was similar to one of his songs named Joyful Noise. The verdict almost came to an end in 2019 finding Perry liable for the infringement, but it was overturned a year later when a judge ruled the eight-note "ostinato" that Perry allegedly copied lacked the "quantum of originality" to warrant any copyright protection. This means the note was too simple for copyright protection.

Katy Perry's win in 2020 was a very rare occasion in which a court overturned the verdict of a jury. In October of the same year, Gray appealed the decision, writing about the similarity of the tone between the two songs. He also argued against the musicologists' use of melodies' databases to determine the similarities in previous works. However, by a 3-to-0 vote, on March 10, 2022, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed the District Court's overturning the initial verdict. The court also said the decision against Katy Perry would have dangerous consequences regarding future creativity.

As per Billboard, the court said, "The portion of the Joyful Noise ostinato that overlaps with the Dark Horse ostinato consists of a manifestly conventional arrangement of musical building blocks." "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," the court added.

More about Katy Perry's song Dark Horse

Katy Perry released her song Dark Horse in 2013. The song also featured Juicy J and was a part of Perry's album Prism. The song made Perry win several accolades, including Grammy Award for the Producer of the Year, MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, American Music Award for Song of the Year, and MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video.

Image: AP