Katy Perry wins ‘Dark Horse’ plagiarism case worth $2.8 million

American singer Katy Perry has reportedly won an appeal in “Dark Horse,” plagiarism case as a judge overruled a 2019 jury decision that found that Perry was guilty of copyright infringement on the song she released in 2013.

The singer was originally found guilty of an eight-note musical phrase from the track that the jury determined was from the 2009 song “Joyful Noise” by Christian rapper Flame. 

The ruling was overturned after an appeal was filed by Perry and Capitol Records. The $2.8 million settlement that had been awarded to Flame as a result of the lawsuit was also wiped out with the new verdict.

“A relatively common 8-note combination of unprotected elements that happens to be played in a timbre common to a particular genre of music cannot be so original as to warrant copyright protection,” Snyder wrote in her verdict.

In the appeal, California Federal Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that the jury’s verdict was not based on the evidence in the case.