Katy Perry recently called out the rapper who sued her for allegedly stealing her hit song “Dark Horse” featuring Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J.
On Thursday, the pop singer won an appeal in her long-running copyright case over the song.
According to Variety, Perry was defending the claim that the 2013 song “Dark Horse” infringed on the copyright of rapper Marcus Gray, also known by his stage name Flame.
Gray claimed that Perry’s song infringed on his copyright as it was substantially similar to his song “Joyful Noise.”
The rapper first sued in 2014, and a Los Angeles jury found Perry liable for infringement in 2019.
A year later, the verdict was overturned when a judge ruled that the eight-note ostinato – a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm – Perry allegedly copied lacked the “quantum of originality” to warrant copyright protection.
Gray appealed the decision in October 2020, arguing the similarity of each song’s timbre.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that decision last week, ruling that a decision against Perry would have dangerous consequences for future creativity.
“The portion of the ‘Joyful Noise’ ostinato that overlaps with the ‘Dark Horse’ ostinato consists of a manifestly conventional arrangement of musical building blocks,” the appeals court wrote in their ruling, reported Billboard.
@richie.ml don’t mess with a triple scorpio #greenscreenvideo #TheAdamProject #TurboTaxAlphorn #SchickAsks #foryou #fyp #katyperry @katyperry
♬ original sound – Richie
During a concert over the weekend, Katy Perry had some strong words for Marcus Gray – and anyone who may be thinking of suing her in the future.
“So just be sure before you take me to court, ’cause I’m a Scorpio b####,” Katy Perry yelled to the crowd from the stage in Las Vegas.
Unless Marcus Gray takes the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the ruling marks the end of the road for the long-running legal action.