Katy Perry loses copyright case over her song Dark Horse

The song's collaborator Juicy J and producer Max Martin were also found liable.
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UPDATE: Katy Perry, her Dark Horse collaborators and her label Capitol Records must pay $2.78 million (£2.3 million) in damages.

Associated Press reports that of that amount, $550,000 (£454,000) must be paid by Katy herself, with Capitol being responsible for the majority of the rest.

Producers Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Cirkut must also pay damages, as will Dark Horse's featured artist Juicy J.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Katy Perry has lost a copyright case over her 2013 single Dark Horse.

Christian rapper Marcus Gray - who goes by the stage name Flame - filed the lawsuit in 2014, citing that Katy's US Number 1 hit copied the underlying beat to his 2008 record Joyful Noise.

Over a seven-day trial which concluded on July 29 in Los Angeles, a jury ruled in favour of Gray, the beat's creator Chike Ojukwu and Joyful Noise's co-writer Emanuel Lambert.

Katy appeared in federal court earlier this month to address the claims, stating that she had never heard of the song until being sued for copyright infringement. One of the song's producers Dr. Luke also testified that he was unaware of Joyful Noise.

MORE: View Katy Perry's complete UK chart history

Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled that both Katy and Dr. Luke either knowingly or unknowingly copied the song. Fellow producers Max Martin and Cirkut, co-writer Sarah Hudson and featured artist Juicy J have all been deemed libellous. Billboard reports that Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Music Corporation, Kobalt Publishing and Kasz Money Inc were also found liable.

Katy was not present for the hearing, with damage proceedings set to begin today (July 30).

Dark Horse peaked at Number 4 on the UK's Official Singles Chart, has been downloaded 602,000 times, and has amassed 153.6 million streams.

This copyright case is the latest high profile music copyright in recent years. In December last year, Robin Thicke and Pharrell were ordered to pay $5 million to Marvin Gaye's estate over their Number 1 smash Blurred Lines, while Ed Sheeran settled a legal claim in 2017 relating to his song Photograph with the writers of a Matt Cardle song.

MORE: Katy Perry's Top 5 most popular non-singles revealed

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