Ringtones royalties battle
p2pnet news view Music | Mobiles:- The Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation and and Public Knowledge want a US federal court to reject what the three organisations are calling “bogus copyright claims” in a ringtone royalties battle.
Demands by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) could raise costs for consumers, jeopardize consumer rights, and curtail new technological innovation, they say.
“Millions of Americans have bought musical ringtones, often clips from favorite popular songs, for their mobile phones,” says an EFF statement, going on:
“Mobile phone carriers pay royalties to song owners for the right to sell these snippets to their customers”. But, “as part of a ploy to squeeze more money out of the mobile phone companies,” ASCAP has told a federal court each time a phone rings in a public place, “the phone user has violated copyright law”.
Does this remind you of anything?
The content police just got a new weapon, p2pnet quoted InforMilo as saying, going on, Spanish start-up BMAT has developed software that can track live performances and reinterpretations of copyrighted works on or off the Internet.”
Say ‘ASCAP’ and then say ‘tracking live performances and reinterpretations of copyrighted works on or off the Internet’.
Meanwhile, “ASCAP argues, phone carriers must pay additional royalties or face legal liability for contributing to what they claim is cell phone users’ copyright infringement,” says the EFF.
In an amicus brief it, it points out copyright law doesn’t reach public performances, “without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage,” and, “if phone users are not infringing copyright law, then mobile phone service providers are not contributing to any infringement”.
ASCAP says it doesn’t plan to charge mobile phone users, “just mobile phone service providers,” says the foundation, adding:
“But if ASCAP prevails, consumers could find themselves targeted by other copyright owners for ‘public performances.’ Worse, these wrongheaded legal claims cast a shadow over innovators who are building gadgets that help consumers get the most from their copyright privileges.”
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
EFF – ASCAP Makes Outlandish Copyright Claims on Cell Phone Ringtones, July 2, 2009
p2pnet – Sued for singing in the shower? July 1, 2009
InforMilo – Play it again Sam: Spanish company`s software tunes in to derivative works, June 26, 2009
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It`s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Maybe now is the time to write to ISP’s and say “Remember that BS about you being a copyright cop for the RIAA/MPAA? Remember the pressure they gave you and still apply? If you agree to this and pass the costs on to us, we’ll drop our service and you’ll have NO income!” This of course applies mostly in Canada where many ISP’s provide mobile phones as well. In the US where competition is abundant, they don’t have the problem on the same scale.
At what point are the artists going to stop sniffing glue and realize this is nothing more than a GRAB at cash they will NEVER see?
BMAT: “reinterpretations of copyrighted works on or off the Internet.” So we’ll see more people being sued for using similar chord progressions? Then similar melodies?
The only way back is to revolt! Congress needs to stop sniffing green and wake up! The parodies don’t work. The info videos don’t work. Listening to a techy ramble above you doesn’t work.
Techies writing to their MP’s/Senators don’t work. You need the masses to get involved, to be motivated and empowered to write in and say “stop this shit before it is too late.”
And to those who feel it is too late? It is NEVER too late! You CAN get rid of stupid laws once proven they are useless, baseless, and actually make things worse. “But we’ve already done that” BULLSHIT! If you really proved it to those senators, things would change. You’ve only proven it to yourselves and those who think as you do. You haven’t proven it to those who do not think like you do.
But given all the negative comments and “we’ve already done that” comments when I requested we try to create a new video with a different target audience, applying techniques that work on their minds… I’m sure you’ll just roll over and die or go back to file sharing, because that clearly really sticks it to the man, totally, and no backlash has ever come about, ever, nope, nothing, no stupid laws, no invasion of privacy, no extortion, nothing, they clearly listened to the message that just file sharing sends.
Hate me all you want, but you have to observe what is going on. You complain, you create parodies that work for you, and masses still buy crap, still go to the theatres, still guy to overpriced concerts, and the lobbying continues and the laws and discussed with even more ambiguity than before and out of the public eye, the media is obviously biased because who owns them (corporations trying to ‘protect’ their ‘rights’ to take advantage of you for short term profits)…
Nothing will change until we change our approach. We take one step forward and the $$$ thrown at our cause from industry push us three steps back!
Think about it, have you really changed things for the good? How many are using Creative Commons? If the world was fed up with copyright and greed, why are more laws being created? Sure they shot down the 3strikes in France, but it ain’t over yet! They will stop at nothing, fighting to the death, taking us all down with them.
We have to change our approach! They are running, we’re walking. The barriers they set up are ever increasing. Driving file sharing underground accomplishes what? Exactly what the **AA want, reduction in the amount, and forcing people to comply with their models and rules.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I’m with the United American Association of Bloggers.
In the blog above we have noticed that you used the phrase, “curtail new technological innovation”.
Please be aware that this phrase is copyright by the United American Association of Bloggers.
Kindly remove the phrase or remove this blog. Court action may be called upon if refused.
Further actions may also be taken against you should you decide to remove the blog or phrase.
With warmest regards,
United American Association of Bloggers