Katy Perry took the stand on Thursday for a lawsuit in which she is being accused of copyright infringement.
On the first day of the trial, the singer, 34, testified against claims she and her songwriting team allegedly took the underlying beat from Christian rapper Flame’s (a.k.a. Marcus Gray) 2008 song “Joyful Noise” in her 2013 hit “Dark Horse” without Gray’s permission.
During her 35-minute testimony, Perry recalled her co-creators Dr. Luke and Cirkut bringing her the instrumental track, according to multiple reports with ABC7 reporting that Perry said she had never heard “Joyful Noise” and the artists behind the song.
In the Los Angeles courtroom, Perry and her attorneys experienced a few technical difficulties when they tried to play “Dark Horse” over the courtroom’s sound system.
“I could perform it for you live,” the 13-time Grammy nominee said as laughter filled the courtroom, according to Billboard.
While Perry had argued that she had never heard of the song or its co-writers, Emmanuel Lambert Jr., a.k.a. Da Truth, who was one of the co-writers of “Joyful Noise,” testified that their song was widely available on streaming services, according to Variety.
However, Perry retaliated with the argument that her Christian music background wouldn’t have made her privy to “Joyful Noise,” according to Billboard, arguing that she mainly listened to secular music despite her past.
Perry’s attorneys also argued that the beat and the song are derivative, and the beat is too common to be protected by copyright. “There is no copyright registration for the Beat itself, which means that no claim for copyright infringement can be brought with respect to the Beat,” Billboard reported.
The trial continues on Friday.
Source: Read Full Article