In a recent court case, Katy Perry has won an appeal over her copyright lawsuit regarding Dark Horse. The singer and her label were ordered to pay a total of $550,000 in damages because the song “Dark Horse” resembled a Christian rap song, ‘Joyful Noise.’ The jury found that parts of the song were similar to the 2008 gospel track, which has been covered by several artists, including Katy.
In the Shape Of You case, songwriter Steve Mac told the court that the plagiarism lawsuit was not about money but about clearing his name. He also testified that working with Ed Sheeran on the song was an “extraordinary experience”. However, the lawyers for Sam Smith and Normani, who are pursuing a similar case over their duet, Dancing With A Stranger, argued that the original composition contained the same elements as the remake.
The song ‘Levitating’ was deemed “infringing” because parts of the song’s melody and lyrics were identical to those of another artist. The singer and composers of the songs said that they were not attempting to plagiarize the songs of other artists, and that they were merely copying the music. The court also found that the music video for the song “Leviate” contained elements from the song’s songwriters. The judges concluded that the similarities between the two songs were not the result of an original combination of elements.
Also Read: Stereophonics score eighth UK Number 1 album with ‘Oochya!’
The writers of Uptown Funk were increased from six to 11 when Gap Band noticed the similarities. Olivia Rodrigo added the members of Paramore to the writing credits of Good 4 U last year after fans reportedly created mashups of the song and the band’s Misery Business. Meanwhile, Dua Lipa was sued twice for Levitating, which became the top-selling single in the US in 2017.
The Gap Band also sued Perry, which responded by increasing the number of writers. In uptown Funk, the number of writers increased from six to 11 when fans of the song noticed similarities between Uptown and the Gap Band’s “Uptown Funk” were similar. In a similar case last year, Olivia Rodrigo’s song Good 4 U, a hit single in the US last year, has been sued twice for Levitating by two different companies.
Also Read: Kylie Jenner’s Instagram video adorably hijacked by daughter Stormi after Wolf’s arrival