Pleased? Yes, I am.
Satisfied? Not till I read the whole decision. Which so far looks dicey.
Check back.
Meantime, there are other articles on this site that look at Dark Horse. This first most recent one — Copyright infringement and the Climate Of Fear — covers the idea that a few bad verdicts shouldn’t upend the creative world.
Gimme 3 minutes to tell you why Dark Horse is not Joyful Noise is the most popular one, probably because it promises brevity. It mostly answers the question, “well if she didn’t copy it, how’d Dark Horse wind up so similar?!” To be a little more technical, this is “why it wasn’t copied.” Whereas…
Does Katy Perry have exposure on Dark Horse? was the first one, and it largely covers what this new ruling appears to say, that the elements in common aren’t protectable. To get technical again, this is arguably “why it isn’t infringement” even if you insist on believing it may have been copied.
And as I said, more to come with this new ruling, which again at first blush is a lot to unpack and more than a bit screwy.
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