The Source |Salt-N-Pepa Push Copyright Fight to Appeals Court After Federal Dismissal

The legal battle over ownership of Salt-N-Pepa’s master recordings is not over.

The Grammy winning duo has formally appealed a federal judge’s decision that threw out their lawsuit against Universal Music Group. The notice of appeal, filed February 4 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, challenges a January 8 ruling that sided with the label.

Get this, District Judge Denise Cote determined that Cheryl James and Sandra Denton never actually owned the copyrights to their recordings. Because of that, she concluded they could not invoke termination rights under Section 203 of the Copyright Act, which allows artists to reclaim certain rights 35 years after transferring them, but only if the artists themselves executed the original transfer.

At the center of the dispute is a 1986 recording agreement with Noise In The Attic Productions, run by producer Hurby Azor. That contract granted ownership of the masters to the production company, which then transferred the rights to Next Plateau Records, a predecessor to Universal. The duo argued that an inducement letter tied to the distribution deal amounted to a direct grant of rights. The court disagreed.

What’s more, in her ruling, Judge Cote wrote, “The only copyright transfer effectuated by these agreements was the one from NITA to Next Plateau Records. Plaintiffs can only terminate copyright transfers that they executed.”

A separate claim alleging interference with master tapes was also dismissed.

Universal described the outcome as a “complete vindication,” adding, “While we are gratified that the court dismissed this baseless lawsuit, we remain open to dialogue to support Salt-N-Pepa’s legacy.”