Katy Perry to pay $2.78 million for copying song

Katy Perry to pay $2.78 million for copying song

The instrumental track that was most at issue was created by Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Circuit.
During closing arguments earlier Thursday, Gray's attorneys said that because the relevant riff plays through 45 percent of "Dark Horse," the plaintiffs should get 45 percent of its earnings, including every album that included it. They put those overall earnings at $41 million, thus seeking nearly $20 million. The defense argued that only fractions of the album earnings should count for the single song and that considerable promotional expenses paid by Capitol Records should be subtracted. Gray's attorneys said those expenses were gratuitous, pointing out to jurors that they included $13,000 for a hairstylist for Perry for one awards show and nearly $2,000 for flashing cocktail ice cubes.

The nine jurors deliberated for two full days to reach their initial verdict but took just a few hours to decide on dollar amounts. Perry's five co-writers were each given penalties to pay that ranged from about $60,000 for Dr. Luke to more than $250,000 for Martin. The jurors decided that the instrumental riff the two sides were fighting over was responsible for 22.5 percent of the success of "Dark Horse" and handed out the awards accordingly. The defendants' fight against the decision will begin immediately. U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder, who presided over the trial, will now consider a motion to throw out the case.

Lepera, Perry's attorney, said outside court that the plaintiffs presented no evidence of copyright infringement, no evidence that the songwriters had access to "Joyful Noise" and no evidence the songs that were substantially similar. "The only matter in common is an unprotectable C and a B note, repeated," Lepera said. "We've been receiving outcry from people all over the world, including other musicologists." If the judge upholds the verdict, the case will almost certainly head to an appeals court, where jury awards in similar cases have often been changed or thrown out in recent years. In the case of another 2013 mega-hit, "Blurred Lines," a jury found singers Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams copied R&B legend Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give it Up" and ordered them to pay Gaye's children nearly $7.4 million. The award was trimmed on appeal last year to just short of $5 million. Kahn said he would be happy to keep up the battle.

Source: indianexpress.com

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