VMG Salsoul, LLC v. Ciccone (2016)

VMG Salsoul, LLC v. Ciccone, 824 F.3d 871 (9th Cir. 2016)

This landmark case created a profound federal circuit split in music sampling, explicitly rejecting the 6th Circuit's Bridgeport precedent.

The Infringement Details VMG Salsoul sued pop superstar Madonna and producer Shep Pettibone, alleging they sampled a 0.23-second horn hit from Salsoul Orchestra's "Ooh I Love It (Love Break)" and incorporated it into the hit song "Vogue."

The 9th Circuit Ruling The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Madonna, holding that the de minimis exception does apply to sound recordings.

The court ruled that a sample is non-infringing if it is so brief or obscured that an average, ordinary listener would not recognize it: > *"We clarify that the de minimis exception applies to sound recordings, just as it applies to all other copyrightable works."*

The Circuit Split This created an active circuit split between the 6th Circuit (no de minimis exception for masters) and the 9th Circuit (de minimis exception applies). Because the 9th Circuit includes California (Los Angeles, the entertainment capital), this split creates a dual-standard: - A sample may be legally non-infringing in California (9th Circuit). - The exact same sample is an automatic copyright infringement in Tennessee (6th Circuit). - Because digital streaming distributes tracks nationwide, rights holders must navigate this with extreme legal caution.