Katy Perry wins appeal against Christian rapper's plagiarism claim
Katy Perry has won an appeal against a Christian rapper who claimed she copied his track.
The "Roar" singer was accused by Christian artist Flame of copying the beat from his song "Joyful Noise" in her 2013 hit, "Dark Horse".
During the trial, Perry denied plagiarising the song.
Flame, real name Marcus Gray, won his case in 2019 and was awarded $2.8m in damages by a Los Angeles jury.
Perry was ordered to pay $550,000 of the total, while Capitol Records was told to pay $1.29m.
An appeals court has now overturned this ruling.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that the eight-note pattern, known as an ostinato, was formed "entirely of commonplace musical elements" and did not reach the threshold for the "quantum of originality" that would merit copyright protection.
The court's verdict means that Perry and her team no longer have to pay the damages.
