Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Katy Perry Wins in Dark Horse Copyright Appeal - BBC News
Katy Perry Wins in Dark Horse Copyright Appeal - BBC News
Katy Perry Wins in Dark Horse Copyright Appeal - BBC News
Yes, I agree
No, take me to settings
Menu
1 day ago
GETTY IMAGES
Katy Perry's biggest hits include California Gurls, Firework, I Kissed A Girl and Dark Horse
Katy Perry will no longer have to pay $2 8m (£2 1m) to a rapper who said she
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 1/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
Katy Perry will no longer have to pay $2.8m (£2.1m) to a rapper who said she
stole his song on her hit Dark Horse.
Marcus Gray sued Perry in 2014, saying she had plagiarised an eight-note riff
from his track Joyful Noise.
A jury agreed and awarded him the $2.8m payout, but a judge later overturned
that verdict, saying the melody was not "particularly unique or rare".
Upholding that decision, an appeals court said the original verdict could have
suffocated musical creativity.
"The trial record compels us to conclude that the ostinatos at issue here
consist entirely of commonplace musical elements, and that the similarities
between them do not arise out of an original combination of these elements,"
the new ruling reads.
The ruling brings the eight-year trial to an end, barring an unlikely trip to the
US Supreme Court.
Sheeran similarities
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 2/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
JULIA QUENZLER
Ed Sheeran has been giving evidence at the High Court this week
The verdict will be read with interest by lawyers for Ed Sheeran, who is facing
similar claims of plagiarism in the UK High Court.
Switch, whose real name is Sami Chokri, claims that the "oh I, oh I, oh I" hook
of Sheeran's song Shape Of You has a "striking similarity" to the chorus of his
Sheeran denies the allegation, and told the court he had never heard Chokri's
song before he made his claim.
Unusually, Sheeran and his co-writers Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac took pre-
emptive legal action, asking the High Court to declare they had not infringed
Chokri's copyright.
Several months later, Mr Chokri and his co-writer Ross O'Donoghue issued
their own claim for "copyright infringement, damages and an account of
profits in relation to the alleged infringement".
Giving evidence on Thursday, Steve Mac said the case was "not about money"
but "to clear my name".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 3/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
He told the court that working with Sheeran on Shape Of You was an
"extraordinary experience", as the song came together "from scratch" at
"extraordinary speed".
"I had a headache at the end of the day," he said, adding: "It was the first time I
had written with anyone like this. It was incredible."
The trial, which is due to last three weeks, will hear from Mr Chokri next
Monday.
Dua Lipa has yet to respond to claims she plagiarised her hit single Levitating
There has been an upward trend in cases since the infamous Blurred Lines case
of 2015, in which Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams were found guilty of
copying the "feel" of Marvin Gaye's Got To Give It Up, rather than directly
plagiarising musical phrases or lyrics.
Many cases are settled out of court, with composers quietly added to the
credits of songs behind the scenes.
The number of writers on Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars's Uptown Funk
ballooned from six to 11 when The Gap Band noticed similarities to their song
Oops Upside Your Head.
Last year, Olivia Rodrigo added two members of Paramore to the writing
credits of Good 4 U, after fans started creating mash-ups of her hit and
Paramore's musically-similar Misery Business.
In the last week, both Dua Lipa and Sam Smith have been hit with copyright
lawsuits of their own.
Lipa has been sued twice over her song Levitating - the biggest-selling single
in the US last year.
Songwriters L Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer said the opening melody of
Levitating was a "duplicate" of their 1979 song Wiggle and Giggle All Night
and the 1980 song Don Diablo (they apparently didn't mind copying their own
material).
The Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System launched a separate legal
action, saying the chorus was ripped off from their 2017 song Live Your Life.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 5/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
Sam Smith and Normani are also facing a trial over their duet Dancing With A
Stranger, with three songwriters saying that both the song and its video
contained "extraordinary similarities" to their song, also called Dancing With A
Stranger.
"In both songs, the title, hook, chorus, lyrics, and musical composition are all
the same - and are repeated throughout the song giving both songs their
identities," said Jordan Vincent, Christopher Miranda and Rosco Banlaoi in a
complaint filed in Los Angeles.
Related Topics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 6/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
Top Stories
Features
Martin Compston: From school corridor How mercenaries for Ukraine are being
to stardom recruited in Russia
Intimate image abuse: His confession 'Reselling PlayStations keeps a roof over
protected him my head'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 7/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
The race for space at the British Library The farmer using sheep milk to make...
vodka
Spam website set up to reach millions of The friends who explore abandoned
Russians buildings
Are you smarter than an 11-year-old? See your body like never before...
Take this quiz & find out... Incredible technology takes you on an emotional
journey deep inside!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 8/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
Most Read
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 9/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
On your mobile
On smart speakers
MOOD
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 10/11
3/12/22, 1:36 PM Katy Perry wins in Dark Horse copyright appeal - BBC News
THE WITCHFINDER
Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters Why you can trust the BBC
© 2022 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external
linking.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60705977 11/11