Katy Perry, Capitol Records and her “Dark Horse” collaborators, including Dr. Luke, were ordered to pay $2.78 million in the copyright infringement lawsuit involving the pop star’s 2013 single, a jury decided Thursday (Aug. 1).
The court decision came less than a week after Christian rapper Marcus Gray successfully argued that “Dark Horse” copied a portion of his 2009 track, “Joyful Noise.”
According to the Associated Press, Perry must pay roughly $550,000 in damages, while her record label will pick up the majority of the multi-million dollar judgment.
Perry’s lawyers plan to appeal. “The writers of Dark Hose consider this a travesty of justice,” said Perry’s attorney Christine Lepera.
Gray, whose stage name is “Flame,” originally sought $20 million in damages but was happy with the court decision, AP reports. The jury ruling is the latest chapter in the five-year legal battle brought on by Gray and his co-writers Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwuhis.
“Dark Horse,” which features a verse from Juicy J, was co-written by Perry, Sarah Hudson, and the song’s producers Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke.