Intellectual Property

Ringtones Are Not Public Concerts

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The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) sued AT&T and Verizon looking to recoup additional royalty fees from people who use ringtones. ASCAP members already receive money from ringtone purchases, but they wanted more money. You know, like a little charge every time a phone rings or something. They lost:
Wired reports ASCAP’s ridiculous argument (gavel bang: ABA Journal):

A federal judge has dismissed the music industry contention that when a cellphone’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.

I don’t think the insufferable noise pollution emanating from the pockets and purses of lemmings who think they are showing individuality is anything at all like a public concert. I’m glad at least one federal judge agrees with me.
The decision (pdf) made it clear that there was no infringement when ringtones are played without any commercial purpose. So make sure you don’t ever ask somebody to pay you for the privilege of listening to your phone. Not only do you run a high risk of getting punched in the face, you also might cause this nonsense argument to waste more judicial time.
Judge: Cellphone Ringtones Are Not Concerts [Wired]
No Royalties for Ringtones, Judge Rules [ABA Journal]

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