(Working Title) American Popular Music and Copyright Law

In 2018, pop star Katy Perry was sued by Christian rapper Flame (Marcus Gray) who claimed Perry used an eight-note ostinato from his 2008 song “Joyful Noise” in her 2014 song “Dark Horse.” In the trial, the jury found in favor of Gray claiming that the ostinato figure, while having some differences, was original enough to be copyrighted and as a result, Perry and co-writers were required to pay $2.78 million in damages. However, in March of 2020 the Jury’s verdict was overturned in favor of Perry, leading Gray to appeal this decision bring this back to court.

This case has gained large attention from lawyers, musicians, and the general public as it sparks debate as to what constitutes musical infringement. This case will likely set precedents for future cases and help define what elements of music are copyrightable.

My goal is to discover why the jury originally voted in favor the plaintiff in the original trial and why the ruling was overturned. This project will utilize court documents and testimonies as sources, and will also involve musical analysis of the two ostinato figures to determine exactly how similar they are and whether this case should have been brought to court in the first place.


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