9th Circuit strikes copyright suit against Madonna over horn sample in 'Vogue'
Madonna. Anton_Ivanov / Shutterstock.com
Madonna was sued for plagiarism over her 1990 hit “Vogue.” However, a federal appellate court has sided with the Material Girl after finding that the lawsuit had nothing to it.
Reuters, the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter’s THR, Esq. blog reported Thursday that a divided three-judge panel for the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Madonna did not infringe another artist’s copyright when she released “Vogue,” one of her biggest hits.
Madonna’s producer had allegedly used a short horn-based segment from “Love Craze,” an earlier song he had worked on, and put it into “Vogue.” In ruling for Madonna, the majority held that the segment in question, which lasted 0.23 seconds, was so short and inconspicuous that most listeners would not have been able to recognize it.
“The horn hit occurs only a few times in ‘Vogue,’” Judge Susan Graber wrote for the majority. “Without careful attention, the horn hits are easy to miss.”
Judge Barry Silverman dissented, arguing that theft is theft. “It is no defense to theft that the thief made off with only a ‘de minimis’ part of the victim’s property,” Silverman wrote.
Robert Besser, a lawyer representing VMG Salsoul, the company that held the copyright for “Love Craze,” told Reuters that he disagreed with the ruling and that his client would consider all of its legal options.
“I agree with the dissent because it should be an infringement for copying any piece of any sound recording,” Besser said to Reuters. According to Reuters, Madonna’s lawyer could not be reached for comment.
