A California jury found Monday that Katy Perry’s song “Dark Horse” infringed on the copyright of a Christian rap song, The Hollywood Reporter says. Marcus Gray, known as Flame, won his lawsuit that said Perry’s 2013 tune stole from his song “Joyful Noise,” particularly the song’s underlying beat. Perry and producer Dr. Luke testified during the trial that they had never heard the song, but Gray and his legal team were able to convince jurors otherwise, as the song had been played millions of times on YouTube and MySpace, and the album it was on was nominated for a Grammy, albeit in a niche genre. Perry and Luke called expert witnesses on their behalf, and also claimed Gray used a pre-existing beat for his song, but were not able to sway the jury. “Dark Horse,” spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014, and earned a Grammy nomination. Perry performed the song during the 2015 Super Bowl halftime show. Along with Luke and Perry, Capitol Records and producers Max Martin and Cirkut were also found liable. The AP reports that the the jury will next decide how much Perry and the other defendants will have to pay for the infringement.
