ascap
Ringtones aren’t performances: ruling
p2pnet news view Music | Mobiles:- ASCAP recently sued AT&T, claiming each time a cellphone ringtone rang, you were listening to a performance. And that required a royalty payment to ASCAP. So says Mashable .
Continue reading »Judge: Mobile Phone Ringtones are Not Concerts
A federal judge has dismissed the music industry contention that when a cell phone’s ringtone begins playing, copyright infringement starts happening since others can hear the song, essentially arguing that a mobile phone is a portable concert hall. That argument meant that millions of mobile phone users were copyright scofflaws anytime anyone called them. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was attempting to wring even more royalties from music-lovers, which already pays ringtone royalties when they buy ringtones. Additionally, ASCAP collects royalty payments for public performances of songs from venues as divergent as a summer camp and a stadium.
Continue reading »Phone ringtones a “public performance”? EFF, AT&T say no
It isn’t often that you find AT&T and the Electronic Frontier Foundation in agreement, but consensus has been reached on one matter: ASCAP’s demand that wireless companies pay it license fees for ringtones is, well, ridiculous. On Wednesday EFF called the move “outlandish” and “a ploy to squeeze more money out of the mobile phone companies.” The advocacy group filed a friend of the court brief with the United States District Court for the Southern District New York this week, which is hearing the dispute between ASCAP, AT&T, and Verizon over whether the telcos have to pay the music licensing body royalties for wireless ringtones. Joining the amicus brief are Public Knowledge and the Center for Democracy and Technology.
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