Back in July of 2014, Katy Perry was accused of plagiarising the song Joyful Noise by a Christian rapper named Marcus Gray, also known as Flame, for her No. 1 hit Dark Horse, which was the second biggest-selling song worldwide that year.
The songwriter sued, with Katy Perry and her team defending themselves by saying they had never heard Joyful Noise.
Gray claimed that Perry and her team had borrowed an eight-note pattern, from his song “Joyful Noise.”
According to the NY Times, Gray further argued that his reputation as a Christian artist had been harmed by the “anti-Christian witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by ‘Dark Horse.’”
The jury initially sided with Gray, and so Perry, along with five co-defendants including producer Max Martin and rapper Juicy J, were ordered to pay damages, adding up to a large $2.8 Million.
Perry and her team later decided to appeal the decision.
U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder found that Capitol Records and the team that worked on Perry’s “Dark Horse” in 2013 — which includes Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald — “are not liable for infringing on Gray’s song.”
Judge Synder also stated that it is “undisputed” that the eight-note section of Dark Horse in question was “not a particularly unique or rare combination” of notes.
You can listen to both songs below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTLeHuvHXuk&feature=emb_title
