Ridiculous: Verizon Pays ASCAP $5M Interim License Fee For … Ringtones

The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers ( ASCAP ) recently made the ridiculous assertion that cellphone ringtones are to be considered "public performances" of music under the Copyright Act and thus require a license. As Ars Technica eloquently pointed out, the claim is ridiculous because after all one doesn't need a public performance license to drive around town in a convertible with the radio on. Even the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sided with the plantiffs in the case (AT&T and Verizon Wireless), called the organization's claims downright 'outlandish' and urged a federal court to reject the "bogus" copyright claims. Imagine my surprise to find out that Verizon has now agreed to pay the ASCAP an interim license fee of more than $4.99 million for songs the phone service provider uses in ringtones for its customers. Meanwhile, the two sides will continue to debate how much the group should receive for the tunes. TechCrunch50 Conference 2009 : September 14-15, 2009, San Francisco