Katy Perry and her team must pay $2.7 million in damages to Christian rapper Flame after a jury ruled Dark Horse was copied (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)
Katy Perry and her team must pay $2.7 million in damages to Christian rapper Flame after a jury ruled Dark Horse was copied (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)
Katy Perry and her team must pay $2.7 million in damages to Christian rapper Flame after a jury ruled Dark Horse was copied (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)
Katy Perry and her team must pay $2.7 million in damages to Christian rapper Flame after a jury ruled Dark Horse was copied (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)

Katy Perry and team to pay Dh9.9m after jury finds 'Dark Horse' copied Christian rap song


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A Christian rapper was awarded $2.7 million (Dh9.9m) on Thursday by a Los Angeles jury that found Katy Perry's 2013 hit Dark Horse contained a musical passage from one of his songs.

The verdict, reported by Los Angeles City News Service, followed a copyright trial in which Marcus Gray, known as Flame, said the beat in his song Joyful Noise was lifted and used in Perry's single.

The jury last week ruled that the short passage in the two songs was identical.

Perry, who was not in federal court for the damages decision, testified last month that she believed Dark Horse was an original work. The song was created by her producers and writers after she was presented with a series of short instrumental passages, the pop star testified.

Her attorney said she would appeal.

Rapper Marcus Gray, right, smiles as his attorney, Michael A. Kahn, second from right, congratulates Gray's wife, Crystal, as they leave the federal courthouse in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Rapper Marcus Gray, right, smiles as his attorney, Michael A. Kahn, second from right, congratulates Gray's wife, Crystal, as they leave the federal courthouse in Los Angeles (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

"The writers of Dark Horse consider this a travesty of justice," attorney Christine Lepera told reporters outside the court, City News reported.

Dark Horse brought in about $31 million (Dh113m)  for record label Capitol Records, a unit of Universal Music Group, attorneys for both sides agreed during the trial. Perry earned about $3.2 million (Dh11.7m).

On Thursday, Capitol Records was ordered to pay $1.2 million (Dh4.4m) in damages to Gray, while Perry was ordered to pay $550,000 (Dh2m). Producers and other collaborators on the song were told to pay the balance of the $2.7 million award.

Flame, 37, from St. Louis, Missouri, released his first album in 2004 and has had several hits on the Billboard gospel and Christian charts, but is little known outside of that genre.

Perry, 34, rose to fame in 2008 and went on to become one of the best-selling female pop stars in the world.

Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.

A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.

Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.

A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.

On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.

The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.

Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.

The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later. 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

----

Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

----

Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

FIXTURES

All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Brackets denote aggregate score

Tuesday:
Roma (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (2), 11.45pm
Manchester United (0) v Sevilla (0), 11.45pm

Wednesday:
Besiktas (0) v Bayern Munich (5), 9pm
Barcelona (1) v Chelsea (1), 11.45pm