Katy Perry Wins ‘Dark Horse’ Copyright Appeal

New updates have arrived in the copywriter case of Katy Perry‘s hit song, ‘Dark Horse.’

More details below…

On March 10, a federal appeals court refused to reinstate a $2.8 million copyright infringement verdict over Perry’s ‘Dark Horse.’ The court ruled that the songs shared only basic musical “building blocks.”

Before the new ruling, a rapper named Marcus Gray sued Perry in 2014. He claimed that she ripped off his song ‘Joyful Noise.’ He previously won a big verdict that was later overturned in 2020 due to the judge ruling that the “ostinato” Perry allegedly copied was too simple for protection.

In a statement 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.”

Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ was a massive hit for the singer. Appearing on her ‘Prism’ album, it became her most recent #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and stayed on the chart for 57 weeks.