Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
It took a judge to rule that ringtones are not concerts
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.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was attempting to wring even more royalties from music lovers, who already pay ringtone royalties when they buy ringtones. Additionally, ASCAP collects royalty payments for public performances of songs from venues as divergent as a summer camp and a stadium.
While ASCAP’s much-ridiculed argument in the case was a legal long shot, copyright chaos might have ensued had the royalty-collecting group actually prevailed.
“The ruling is an important victory for consumers, making it clear that playing music in public, when done without any commercial purpose, does not infringe copyright,” wrote Fred von Lohmann, a copyright attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Junior Seau is back. Again.
Junior Seau is back with the New England Patriots, coming out of retirement for a third time to sign a contract Tuesday for a 20th season as an NFL linebacker.The signing of the 12-time Pro Bowl player was announced by Versus, the television network on which Seau has a show. The Patriots have not announced the signing, which had been expected, although the team said he had a physical and a workout last week.
"I hope at some point he will be" with the Patriots, club owner Robert Kraft said at the NFL owners meeting in Boston. "He's a unique individual. I'd love to have him part of our team for as long as he wants to."
He came out of retirement last year to play the final four games with the Patriots after playing 27 games with them in 2006 and 2007.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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