Perry had been accused of copying her megahit “Dark Horse” from a Christian rap song.
Katy Perry will no longer have to pay damages in the copyright case against rapper who claimed Perry stole the song. Marcus Gray sued Perry in 2014, saying she had plagiarised an eight-note riff from his track “Joyful Noise”; eventually a jury agreed and awarded him a $2.8m payout.
However, a federal appeals court has overturned the initial ruling and said the pop superstar Katy Perry and her team are not liable to Marcus.
According to various reports, the Pasadena, California-based court said the eight-note pattern, known as an ostinato, consisted “entirely of commonplace musical elements” that lacked the “quantum of originality” needed for copyright protection.
Katy Perry isn’t the only musician who has had to defend herself in court over copyright claims. Ed Sheeran was in court this week defending his song “Shape of You”, Taylor Swift will appear in court over a “Shake It Off” copyright claim and Dua Lipa was recently sued over her hit song “Levitating.”
The ruling brings the eight-year trial to an end, barring an unlikely trip to the US Supreme Court.
