Aug. 2 (UPI) — Katy Perry and other defendants have been ordered to pay $2.8 million after a Los Angeles jury decided that Perry’s song “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J, copied elements from “Joyful Noise” by Christian rapper Flame featuring Lecrae.
Perry must pay $550,000, with her label Capitol Records owing $1.3 million, the nine-member jury decided on Thursday.
Her collaborators on the song including producer Max Martin owes $253,000, producer Dr. Luke owes $61,000 and Luke’s company Kasz Money Inc. owes $189,000. Juicy J and Sarah Hudson also owe money.
“Our clients filed this lawsuit five years ago seeking justice and fair compensation for the unauthorized taking of their valuable creation. It has been a long and arduous path to this day, but they are quite pleased to have received the justice they sought,” Flame’s, real name Marcus Gray, attorney Michael A. Kahn said in a statement.
Perry and her team lost the copyright battle on Monday.
The pop star’s attorney Christine Lepera had argued that there was no evidence that “Joyful Noise” was widely distributed and that her clients wouldn’t have heard it due to the songs obscurity. She also argued that the underlying beat is too common and short to be copyright protected.
“They’re trying to own basic building blocks of music, the alphabet of music that should be available to everyone,” Lepera said during closing arguments.
Flame’s team which also included “Joyful Noise” co-writer Da Truth, real name Emmanual Lambert Jr., argued that the song was a hit in the Christian music scene and was widely available on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify. Perry’s origins in Christian music was also mentioned.
