The 'Dark Horse' hitmaker has filed paperworks for an appeal in an effort to fight the ruling that found her guilty of ripping off a rap song called 'Joyful Noise'.
- October 12, 2019
AceShowbiz - Katy Perry is officially appealing the verdict of her "Dark Horse" plagiarism case.
The pop star and her collaborators, including songwriters Dr. Luke and Max Martin, were found guilty of swiping segments from Marcus Gray's Christian rap song "Joyful Noise" back in July, and ordered to pay $2.78 million to the rapper, but Perry insists she shouldn't have to pay up.
Her lawyers have filed for an appeal, claiming "the plaintiffs lack a copyright registration for the beat in question itself," and that Gray couldn't prove that their client had access to "Joyful Noise" prior to writing the pop song.
"Plaintiffs did not present any direct evidence of access or circumstantial evidence of a chain of events linking 'Joyful Noise' to the relevant authors of 'Dark Horse'," the appeal reads. "Nor did Plaintiffs present sufficient evidence of widespread dissemination of 'Joyful Noise' that would give rise to a reasonable opportunity to hear 'Joyful Noise'."
The lawyers also claim one of the plaintiffs' trial witnesses, musicologist Dr. Todd Tecker, "gave improper and highly prejudicial testimony," and urge Judge Christina A. Snyder to throw out the jury's verdict, order a new trial, and/or reduce the damages awarded to Gray.
Michael A. Kahn, one of the attorneys for the defence, tells Billboard: "We will vigorously oppose the motion, strive to uphold the jury's verdict, and continue to fight for our clients' rights."
