Jury says Katy Perry, others must pay a total of $2.7 million over 'Dark Horse' copyright
A federal jury has ordered Katy Perry and her co-defendants to pay total damages of $2.7 million for her hit song, "Dark Horse."
The jury found 22.5% of the net profits made by the song should be given to the plaintiffs.
Perry herself is liable for $550,000.
On Monday, a jury in Los Angeles federal court agreed with Christian rapper Marcus Gray, aka Flame, that Perry copied the beat of his 2008 song, "Joyful Noise," for the 2013 hit single from her "Prism" album.
During closing arguments Friday, lawyers for Gray argued that the beat from "Joyful Noise" makes up 45% of "Dark Horse," and sought 45% of the profits from the song.
"The entire song was built on that beat, without that beat there wouldn’t be a song or millions of money," Michael Kahn, an attorney for Gray, said in court.
During the seven-day trial, Perry testified that she'd never heard "Joyful Noise" before.
The plaintiffs, however, argued that Perry's parents are both pastors and she started her career as a Christian pop singer, which may have made it more likely that she had heard Gray's song.
"My clients feel vindicated, they feel that they received justice," Kahn told ABC News. "They are not gloating over this, they are deeply religious people, Christian gospel musicians. They felt that they had been wronged, that something of value had been taken without their permission, and they wanted justice and felt that they received justice."
Perry countered that she was "mostly always listening to ... secular music anyway," even during the early part of her career as a Christian singer.
Perry's collaborators on "Dark Horse," including Dr. Luke, Max Martin and Juicy J, were also found liable on Monday, Billboard reports.
Kahn told ABC News he expects Perry's lawyers to appeal the decision.
ABC News' Christopher Watson contributed to this report.
