Music-sampling copyright cases often turn on very small pieces of recorded sound. The U.S. opinions in Grand Upright, Newton, Bridgeport, and VMG Salsoul describe those pieces with unusually concrete measurements: words, notes, seconds, repetitions, time stamps, and recording lengths. Together, the records show how courts described the disputed material and what happened procedurally. They do not form a census of all sampling lawsuits.
Contents
- The Grand Upright record
- Newton: six seconds and four tones
- Bridgeport: two seconds extended to 16 beats
- VMG Salsoul: the 0.23-second horn segment
- What the appellate outcomes measured
- Statutory damages and criminal thresholds
The Grand Upright record
The 1991 Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros. Records opinion is an early, frequently cited sampling dispute involving Biz Markie’s album I Need a Haircut and Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally).” The defendants admitted that the album used three words from the song plus a portion of its music. The complaint was docketed as No. 91 Civ. 7648 (KTD) in the Southern District of New York. These are measurements and procedural details reported in the 1991 opinion, not a modern survey of sample-clearance practice. (Grand Upright Music v. Warner Bros. Records, 780 F. Supp. 182)
The court identified three categories of ownership proof: copyright copies and transfer deeds, Gilbert O’Sullivan’s testimony, and the defendants’ licensing-related conduct. The record also said Warner Bros. had one department specifically set up to obtain sample clearances. At least three defendant-side entities were described as knowing that clearances were necessary: Warner Bros., WEA International, and Cold Chillin’ Records.
The timing of the attempted permission was also quantified. Biz Markie’s attorneys sent one letter seeking consent to use the original composition before the album’s release. After the preliminary-injunction ruling, the order required the plaintiff to submit a proposed decree within five days. The court referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney for consideration under two criminal provisions, 17 U.S.C. §506(a) and 18 U.S.C. §2319.
Those numbers describe the record in one 1991 case: three words and a portion of music, one clearance department, at least three entities aware of the need for clearance, one consent letter, five days for a proposed decree, and two criminal provisions cited for consideration. They should not be read as averages or as a statistical rate for the recording industry.
Newton: six seconds and four tones
The 2004 Ninth Circuit opinion in Newton v. Diamond described a six-second sample from James Newton’s performance of “Choir,” used by the Beastie Boys. The sampled musical figure contained three sung notes—C, D-flat, and C—over a held flute C note. Counting the held flute tone, the disputed passage contained four separate tones. The three-note sequence appeared only one time in Newton’s composition. (Newton v. Diamond, 388 F.3d 1189)
The opinion placed the sample in the context of the complete recording. The licensed “Choir” sound recording was approximately four and a half minutes long, and the six-second sample represented roughly 2% of that recording. The composition’s score called for between 180 and 270 seconds of improvisation. Its remaining improvisation sections ranged from 90 to 180 seconds. Those figures distinguish the length of the sampled passage from the much larger structure described in the composition and recording.
The repeated use in the target track was much greater than one occurrence. The Beastie Boys looped the six-second sample as a background element, so it appeared more than 40 times in various renditions of “Pass the Mic.” The licensing facts were split between the recording and the composition: the Beastie Boys obtained one license for Newton’s sound recording and zero licenses for the underlying composition.
| Measurement in the 2004 opinion | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Sample duration | 6 seconds |
| Separate tones, counting held flute tone | 4 |
| Appearances of the three-note sequence in Newton’s composition | 1 |
| Approximate length of “Choir” recording | 4.5 minutes |
| Sample share of the recording | Roughly 2% |
| Appearances in various “Pass the Mic” renditions | More than 40 |
The Ninth Circuit outcome was one summary judgment for the defendants. The court affirmed on the ground that the use was de minimis. That outcome belongs to the particular composition and recording facts described in the 2004 opinion; it does not establish a universal safe duration for every sample.
Bridgeport: two seconds extended to 16 beats
The Sixth Circuit’s 2005 Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films opinion described a different kind of measurement problem. The source recording, Funkadelic’s “Get Off Your Ass and Jam,” opened with a three-note combination lasting four seconds. The alleged sample copied two seconds of that guitar solo. Before it was used in “100 Miles and Runnin’,” the copied fragment underwent one pitch-lowering alteration. (Bridgeport Music v. Dimension Films, 410 F.3d 792)
The altered fragment was looped and extended to 16 beats. It appeared at five time points in “100 Miles and Runnin’”: 0:49, 1:52, 2:29, 3:20, and 3:46. The district court estimated that each looped segment lasted approximately seven seconds. It estimated that all copied looped segments together totaled at most 40 seconds.
The surrounding recordings provide another scale comparison. “Get Off Your Ass and Jam” ran approximately 2.5 minutes, while “100 Miles and Runnin’” ran approximately four and a half minutes. The sample was used as a background element in one song included in the soundtrack of I Got the Hook Up.
The Sixth Circuit treated the dispute as involving two different copyright analyses: one for musical compositions and one for sound recordings. The appeal was resolved through two consolidated case numbers, 02-6521 and 03-5738. Claims against Dimension Films and Miramax were dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a settlement dated June 27, 2002. In a related Bridgeport appeal, the Sixth Circuit affirmed an award of $41,813.30 in attorney fees and costs to No Limit Films. (Related Bridgeport appeal)
VMG Salsoul: the 0.23-second horn segment
The 2016 Ninth Circuit opinion in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone focused on an alleged 0.23-second horn segment from “Love Break,” used in Madonna’s “Vogue.” The single horn hit in “Love Break” was a four-note chord—E-flat, A, D, and F—in the key of B-flat. The alleged source version lasted seven minutes and 46 seconds. (VMG Salsoul, LLC v. Ciccone, 824 F.3d 871)
The source recording contained repeated horn material. The single horn hit occurred 27 times, while the double horn hit occurred 23 times. The horn hits were spaced at approximately two-to-four-second intervals. The relevant source passages occurred in two segments: from 3:11 to 4:38 and from 7:01 to the end at 7:46.
The opinion separately described two versions of “Vogue.” The radio edit lasted four minutes and 53 seconds and contained one single horn hit, three double horn hits, and one breakdown version. Its horn hits occurred at 0:56, 1:02, 3:41, 4:05, and 4:18. The compilation version lasted five minutes and 17 seconds and contained one single horn hit and five double horn hits. Its horn hits occurred at 1:14, 1:20, 3:59, 4:24, 4:40, and 4:57.
The alleged “Vogue” sample was transposed one half-step higher than the “Love Break” horn hit. The plaintiff originally alleged sampling of five named sound categories—strings, vocals, congas, vibraslap, and horns—plus material from another song, before narrowing its theory to the horn hit. The claim asserted infringement of two copyrights in “Love Break”: the composition and the sound recording.
VMG ended in one summary judgment for the defendants. The Ninth Circuit also vacated and remanded one separate attorney-fee award. The 0.23-second measurement is therefore a description of the disputed passage in this case, not a general legal threshold.
What the appellate outcomes measured
The cases report different types of outcomes, so their figures should be kept separate. Newton ended with one defense summary judgment affirmed as de minimis. VMG ended with one defense summary judgment, alongside one vacated-and-remanded attorney-fee award. Bridgeport included two consolidated appeal numbers, a settlement-dated dismissal with prejudice for Dimension Films and Miramax, and a related fee-and-cost award of $41,813.30.
The Bridgeport appeal record also identified three appellants in the second consolidated appeal: Bridgeport Music, Southfield Music, and Nine Records. These are case-specific counts of parties, appeals, rulings, and awards. They are not probabilities of winning or losing a future sampling dispute.
Statutory damages and criminal thresholds
The case measurements above are historical facts from opinions. The following figures are current-law reference points accessed in 2026 under Title 17 and should be distinguished from the 1991, 2004, 2005, and 2016 case records.
Under 17 U.S.C. §504(c)(1), statutory damages generally range from $750 to $30,000 for each infringed work and one infringer. A court may increase statutory damages to no more than $150,000 per work when infringement is proven willful. If the infringer proves lack of awareness and no reason to believe the conduct infringed copyright, a court may reduce statutory damages to no less than $200. (17 U.S.C. §504)
The statute’s per-work framing matters for counting. Its example for three separately infringed works by one defendant gives a minimum of $750 and a possible maximum of $30,000 under the per-work rule. The copyright owner may make one election of statutory damages any time before final judgment instead of actual damages and profits.
Criminal provisions use separate conditions. For criminal infringement, §506(a)(1)(B) identifies reproduction or distribution during any 180-day period with total retail value above $1,000 as one statutory trigger when the infringement is willful. Section 506(a)(1)(A) separately identifies one condition based on willful infringement for commercial advantage or private financial gain. (17 U.S.C. §506)
For producers, the central statistical lesson is limited but concrete: the reported sample can be six seconds, two seconds, or 0.23 seconds; it can contain four tones, be repeated more than 40 times, be looped to 16 beats, or recur at measured intervals. The legal records also separate compositions from sound recordings and case outcomes from statutory reference points. Those distinctions are necessary when comparing sampling disputes without turning individual measurements into unsupported industry-wide rules.