In deciding last week that Katy Perry’s 2013 hit “Dark Horse” copied an 11-year-old Christian rap song, a federal jury in Los Angeles contributed to what music executives worry is a growing trend: infringement cases that claim some of the industry’s most popular songs are rip-offs. Ms. Perry and her collaborators must pay $2.8 million in damages, the jury found, a decision that has lawyers concerned about similar lawsuits and songwriters worried about stifled creativity. ...
The ruling that pop star Katy Perry's song Dark Horse copied from a Christian rap song could lead to further claims that the music industry's most popular songs are guilty of infringements. The recent case, in which damages of $2.8 million were awarded, and the 2015 trial over the song Blurred Lines have helped potentially to extend musical infringement past just melody and lyrics to include a song's feel as well. Now music attorneys are concerned that artists will be unfairly punished for using generic musical elements, with older records becoming more valuable if they are infringed upon by modern singer-songwriters.