Additional litigation on the subject seems imminent because the Register’s decision is not binding on courts and music publishers have already claimed to be exploring their legal options. Music publishers instantly disagreed with the ruling and refused to follow it. As could be expected, copyright owners strongly opposed this change, and the debate ultimately ended up in front of the Register of Copyrights.Īfter reviewing briefs submitted by lawyers on both sides of the dispute and listening to an oral argument that included the playing of music by Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, and Pretty Ricky–not typical fare for the Library of Congress–the Register of Copyrights issued her decision on October 16, 2006, finding that the compulsory license provision of section 115 covers ringtones. Section 115 requires copyright owners to license musical compositions under certain limited circumstances at a set statutory rate, currently only $0.091, that is much lower than the freely negotiated rates. The argument that copyright licensing for ringtones should not be freely negotiated but rather should be facilitated through the compulsory licensing statute in section 115 has emerged as one such cost-cutting strategy. Recently, however, changes in ringtone technology and the ringtone market have put a crunch on the profit margins of ringtone providers, and, as a result, providers have begun to look for new ways to decrease costs and increase profits. For years, ringtone licenses were freely negotiated between copyright owners and ringtone providers. Yes, those loud, annoying snippets of music that everyone seems to use these days have music industry power players up in arms.īefore a ringtone can find its way onto someone’s cell phone, the ringtone provider must license the copyright-protected music featured in the ringtone from whomever owns that copyright. What, you might ask, could create such a legal fight that music industry players cannot agree and are forced to petition the Register of Copyrights for an answer? None other than cell phone ringtones. The final outcome of this legal issue will determine the allocation of millions of dollars in a four billion dollar specialty music market. [Attorneys representing the Recording Industry Association of America (“RIAA”), EMI Music Publishing, the National Music Publishers’ Association (“NMPA”), the Songwriters Guild of America (“SGA”), and the Nashville Songwriters Association International (“NSAI”) assembled to argue one of the most hotly debated copyright issues facing the music industry. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress for oral arguments before representatives of the Register of Copyrights. On October 4, 2006, lawyers from some of the most powerful organizations in the music industry gathered at the U.S.
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