Katy Perry To Pay Gospel Rapper $2.7m Over Copyright Infringement

American singer, Katy Perry and the crew who worked on her 2013 hit “Dark Horse” have been ordered to pay $2.78 million for partially copying Gospel rapper, Flame’s song “Joyful Noise.”  

The pop singer was sued five years ago by Marcus Gray – professionally known as Flame – and two co-writers who claimed her 2013 hit was stolen from his and Lecrae’s song “Joyful Noise”, which was released in 2008.

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Lawyers representing Flame claimed that Katy and her team had “copied an important part” of his song, at the conclusion of legal proceedings that started in 2014.

Perry herself was ordered to pay just over $550,000 to “Flame” — after the jury found that a beat used in her 2013 song “Dark Horse” constituted copyright infringement.

The trial in Los Angeles saw Perry take the witness stand and said she had never heard of Gray’s 2009 rap “Joyful Noise.”

Perry’s representatives, Attorney Christine Lepera  vowed to appeal if the case is not dismissed pending a defence motion.

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“The writers of ‘Dark Horse’ consider this a travesty of justice,” she said outside court.

Gray’s lawyers had argued for a far higher penalty of around $20 million.

“These defendants made millions and millions of dollars from their infringement of the plaintiffs’ song,” attorney Michael Kahn told the court.

During the trial, Perry’s lawyers said the two songs’ underlying beat was “commonplace” and therefore cannot be copyrighted.

Perry’s label Capitol Records was ordered to pay $1.2 million of the damages. Her producers will also pay toward the sum.

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Perry performed a version of “Dark Horse” at the 2015 Super Bowl, while “Joyful Noise” has been viewed more than 3 million times on YouTube.

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