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ASCAP Wants To Be Paid When Your Phone Rings

Posted by kdawson on from the don't-even-think-about-whistling-the-beatles dept.

gerddie notes a piece up on the EFF site outlining the fairly outlandish legal theories ASCAP is trying out in their court fight with AT&T. "ASCAP (the same folks who went after Girl Scouts for singing around a campfire) appears to believe that every time your musical ringtone rings in public, you're violating copyright law by 'publicly performing' it without a license. At least that's the import of a brief (PDF, 2.5 MB) it filed in ASCAP's court battle with mobile phone giant AT&T."

1 of 461 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I recommend they come ask me in person. by jd · · Score: 0, Redundant

    How about:

    • If the defendant claims frivolous lawsuit, and the plaintiff shows it isn't, the court can penalize the defendant for wasting court time.
    • If a lawsuit is shown to not merely be frivolous but actually willfully malicious, the plaintiff faces fines comparable to those the defendant would have faced if found guilty.
    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)