Tyler Perry Testifies In Copyright Trial

Previously: ‘Tyler Perry Sued For Copyright Infringement’

Tyler Perry took the stand Wednesday in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by a woman claiming he lifted material from her play for his 2005 film Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Donna West’s federal lawsuit argues that Perry stole concepts from a script she wrote titled Fantasy of a Black Woman, which was based primarily on her own experiences.

Jurors on Tuesday watched Perry’s film and listened to a reading of West’s play, which was performed in 1991 at the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters at the Dallas Convention Center.

West wants a jury to award her family all the profits made from Perry’s movie, which earned some $50 million at the box office.