LOS ANGELES (NBC) - Los Angeles federal judge Christina A. Snyder overturned a jury verdict in 2019 that found Katy Perry's single "Dark Horse" as a copy of a 2009 rap song by a Christian hip-hop group. The overturn costs the verdict $2.8 million according to broadcasting company NBC News.
Judge Snyder wrote that Dark Horse and the song "Joyful Noise" were using elements that are commonplace in music and that courts have denied copyright protection.
Snyder added that even the plaintiffs viewed the most favorable evidence: the signature elements of the eight-note ostinato in the song was not unique or has a rare combination.
Michael A. Kahn, the attorney for rapper Marcus Gray or Flame said that they will appeal on the judge's final verdict.
"When the jurors returned a unanimous verdict of infringement, I cautioned my clients that we had only finished Round 11 of a 15-round match, and that the next round would take place in the court of appeals," he said.
The other plaintiffs are Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwu. The prosecution argued that the instrumental line in the single "Dark Horse" are similar to those in their song.
Chistine Lepera said in the arguments that the plaintiffs' claim are likely to try their own style of music that is should be for everyone.
The Overturned Verdict
Judge Snyder also nixed $2.8 million in damages that the Perry camp were supposed to award to Gray. If the case were upheld, Perry must pay $550,000 in damages, while Capitol Records, which released the song as part of the 2013 album Prism, will take charge of the payment's remainder.
The verdict's overturn was released while Perry is pregnant with her first child with actor and fiancé Orlando Bloom according to a report by Entertainment Tonight.
The Case's First Verdict
The case was first given the verdict last year after the jury found out that the song was indeed copied from the "Joyful Noise" song.
The song was a hybrid of pop, trap, and hip-hop sounds, and it is the third single of Prism. The song was on Billboard Hot 100 in 2013 and in early 2014, and it stayed at the top for a month. The song also earned a nomination at the Grammys for Perry. It became a sort of controversy after Gray filed a case against her as her hit single has similar sounds to their song that was released in 2009.
The Perry camp headed by Lepera did not respond to the questions by the press about the verdict's overturn, which also came a week after the same case in a different court in California gave a verdict to rock band Led Zeppelin regarding their legal battle over their hit classic "Stairway to Heaven."
The $2.8 million award was short for what the plaintiffs want and a little amount for those like Perry and others.
Copyright issues are easy to determine, but sometimes it is hard to predict if the case will win or not, and sometimes it can be overturned. Copyright and other intellectual property rights call for protection of patented music, literature or anything that are unique and made from the distinct talent and style of the maker.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
