Jury Finds Katy Perry’s ‘Dark Horse’ Is Copied Christian Rap Song

A jury this week found Katy Perry’s 2013 song “Dark Horse” was copied in part from “Joyful Noise,” a song by Christian rap artist Flame. The record raked in a  $41 million and Flame wants a share.

The judgement, that was 5 years in the making, has the jury agreeing that the beat of the Christian song was original enough to be copyrighted. The suit was filed by Christian rapper Marcus Gray, also known as Flame, and two co-writers against the pop star. The case will now head to a penalty phase, where the jury will decide how much the plaintiffs are owed for copyright infringement.

The jurors final verdict found all six songwriters and all four corporations that released and distributed the songs were liable. In addition to Perry, songwriters Sarah Hudson, who only worked on the lyrics, and Juicy J, who only penned his guest verse are also named. Other defendants found liable were Capitol Records as well as Perry’s producers who are said to have come up with the songs beat in question.

“Dark Horse,” a tune with pop and hip-hop sounds that was the third single of Perry’s 2013 album “Prism,” and spent four weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2014, and earned Perry a Grammy nomination. More important in the case itself is the money the song earned. In an agreement entered into court Perry is said to have  only pocketed $3.2 million from "Dark Horse," while incurring $800,000 in costs. Apparently that's Perry's way  of saying she didn't profit from the song. Sure Katy, sure.