Katy Perry Wins Reversal In “Dark Horse” Copyright Case

Quinn Rooney-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Katy Perry Wins Reversal In “Dark Horse” Copyright Case

Quinn Rooney-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Last summer, a jury decided Katy Perry and Juicy J’s trap-pop smash “Dark Horse,” a #1 hit in 2013, ripped off a Christian rap song called “Joyful Noise” by Flame and Lecrae. Perry, her collaborators, and Capitol Records were subsequently ordered to pay $2.78 million in damages, with Perry herself footing $550,000. Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, the verdict has been overturned on appeal.

In an opinion Tuesday, US District Court Judge Judge Christina Snyder finds Perry and her codefendants are not liable for infringing on “Joyful Noise.” Snyder found that Flame, real name Marcus Gray, could not satisfy the extrinsic test, which requires that the plaintiff identify concrete similarities in the works based on objective criteria. Although Gray’s musicologist Todd Decker argued “Dark Horse” copied elements including pitch sequence and the temporal spacing of notes, Snyder ruled none of those elements are protectable under copyright law. In her opinion, the judge writes, “Because the sole musical phrase that plaintiffs claim infringement upon is not protectable expression, the extrinsic test is not satisfied, and plaintiffs’ infringement claim — even with the evidence construed in plaintiffs’ favor — fails as a matter of law.”

Elsewhere Snyder elaborates, “It is undisputed in this case, even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, that the signature elements of the 8-note ostinato in ‘Joyful Noise’… is not a particularly unique or rare combination, even in its deployment as an ostinato: prior compositions, including prior works composed by the parties, as well as what all agree is a separate non-infringing ostinato in “Dark Horse,” all contain similar elements.” Her opinion also cites Led Zeppelin’s win in their own appeal last week after being sued for allegedly infringing on Spirit’s “Taurus.”

Here are the two songs side by side once again:

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