A Christian Rapper has lost a court case against pop singer Katy Perry this week.
Marcus Gray, who goes by the stage name ‘Flame’ had accused Katy Perry of stealing an eight-note musical pattern from his 2008 song, called ‘Joyful Noise’ and using it for her 2013 hit song ‘Dark Horse.’
On Thursday March 11 an appeals court ruled that Katy Perry did not plagiarize the popular song and that her team were not liable to pay ‘Flame’ for damages related to copyright infringement.
The ruling has come after a 2019 jury originally found Perry guilty of copyright infringement and she was ordered and her team to pay Gray $2.78 million in damages.
The verdict was then overturned in 2020 by Los Angeles Judge Christina Snyder, who claimed the “signature elements of the eight-note ostinato” in “Joyful Noise” weren’t complex enough to warrant copyright protection.
Gray then appealed the decision in 2020, sending it to the Court of Appeals who upheld Snyder’s conviction.
Marcus is a well known American Lutheran Christian Hip Hop rapper with Clear Sight Music. He has released nine albums.
He named one of his album’s Christ for You as he wants his fans to "to experience the joy and freedom that I’ve found in the sacraments.