Knife-wielding man is shot outside LA courthouse amid infringement case against Katy Perry
Katy Perry in 2019. Photo by Glenn Francis via Wikimedia Commons.
A courthouse security officer shot and wounded a man wielding a knife outside the federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Tuesday as testimony continued in a trial that contends that Katy Perry’s 2013 song “Dark Horse” improperly borrowed from a 2008 Christian hip-hop song.
The man was shot in the hand and was expected to survive, police told KTLA and Law360. A knife was recovered at the scene. A second man also was taken into custody, according to the Los Angeles Times.
An FBI spokesperson said the officer fired after the man approached court security and became involved in an altercation.
Amid the commotion outside, songwriting titan Dr. Luke, whose legal name is Lukasz Gottwald, testified that he had never heard of the Christian song “Joyful Noise.” The Christian rap plaintiffs—Flame, whose legal name is Marcus Gray; Da’ T.R.U.T.H.; and Chike Ojukwu—allege that “Dark Horse” writers infringed their copyright by ripping off a musical phrase in “Joyful Noise,” according to Law360 and Billboard.
The defendants are Dr. Luke, Perry and other collaborators who wrote “Dark Horse.”
“We take this seriously and write original music,” Dr. Luke testified.
