Katy Perry seeks overturning of jury verdict or new trial in copyright case

Katy Perry, her songwriters and other defendants have moved to reverse a jury's verdict of $2.78 million for copyright infringement of a Christian rapper's work in her pop hit "Dark Horse."

In motions filed Oct. 9 in Los Angeles federal court, Aaron M. Wais of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP sought a judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial, claiming the jury did not have enough evidence to support its verdict, that the amount it awarded was excessive and a plaintiff's expert gave improper or prejudicial testimony. Marcus Gray v. Katy Perry, 15-CV05642 (C.D. Cal, filed July 24, 2015).

In an email Friday, plaintiff Marcus Gray's attorney, Michael A. Kahn of Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan PC, said, "We have not yet had sufficient time to review those court filings, which total more than 2,000 pages. However, we will oppose the defendants' efforts to overturn a unanimous jury verdict and will continue to work to protect our clients' rights in their creation."

After a trial in August, the jury found part of Perry's 2013 single "Dark Horse" was substantially similar to Gray's 2012 track "Joyful Noise," the defendants likely heard "Joyful Noise" before writing "Dark Horse," and the plaintiff's copyright registration in "Joyful Noise" protects the portion of the song that Perry allegedly infringed.

The defense motion also contested the jury's finding that 22.5% of the profits earned by each of the defendants on the song "Dark Horse" could be credited to its similarity to "Joyful Noise" as well as the decision to omit Capitol Records' overheard costs when calculating the net profit of "Dark Horse."

The defendants also proposed a new trial, based on their allegation of misconduct by the plaintiffs' counsel and witnesses, including a musicologist whose testimony allegedly was highly prejudicial and "invaded the province of the jury."

-- Jessica Mach