[PCWorld]

Post your comments for When Your Phone Rings, the Copyright Police May Come Calling here

[number9]

Next, they'll want us to pay every time we play a CD or mp3 that we already paid for.

[RNR19952]

LOL Agreed, it is actually a sampling which is allowed

[WinTard]

As per title of this thread: the Copyright Police May Come, but they may never be heard of or seen again... Anybody heard of the Bermuda Triangle? Stranger things have happened...

~~~~~~~~~~~~
My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.
~ Muhammad Ali

[bbvammy]

Let me turn up my ring tone volume.

So, everyone can hear it.

[Boomshadow]

The good news is that ASCAP does at least make sure artists get paid. The bad news is that in this case they're being ridiculous, and they're hurting their artists' reputations to boot. I agree with number9, in that the courts should consider the chilling effect on pay-for-play across the entire musical world. Music was meant to be played. If ASCAP wants to do better by its artists, it should declare war on the RIAA!

[quackadilly]

Don't forget about playing music in your car.... if anyone hears it you gotta pay up. Keep your headphones turned down.....don't want any unintentional listeners.

[Rocker452]

This is ridiculous. How do they plan on enforcing it anyway have people roaming around in public and when someones phone rings run up to them and say pay up, really absurd if you ask me.

[backbuster]

LOL I had a vision of the judge sitting at his bench breaking into laughter when this case is put in front of him, ridiculous waste of the courts time. If ASCAP's contention was true then any time you played your music loud enough that someone else could hear it would be a public performance. I know these guys are fighting to keep their business alive but actions like this are only going to speed up their demise. The advances in technology have made their business model obsolete, if they keep up this type of activity the government is going to be forced to step in and change the copyright laws. If the RIAA and the ASCAP don't come up with a new business plan that keeps up with the times they will find themselves in the same boat as Rambus, with their only income being from lawsuits.

[markww]

The truth is if they win this in court they will come for you in the shower singing your favorite song. How far will these people go to get money,even now they are going after sat radio for us to pay for listening to music we already pay to listen too xm and Sirius sending letters out to charge to listen per listener hour so i can canceled the accounts in protest. These people are taking away your 14th amendment of the constitution Mark

[Evildave]

Actually, they could have the cellular phone upload a little record to a server (similar to a text message) identifying the music you're playing when the phone rings. Maybe just grab the MP3 tags. Perhaps include a small sample of the music to compare to a database of music tunes and match it up if you strip the tags from the song (such software already exists).
If they 'win', the natural response of cellular carriers will be to disable musical ringtones on their 'smart phones' that are smart enough to do the reporting, so that they won't have to deal with this mess. Though some carriers will just add mysterious per-call charges to your bill and collect their share.
If a cell phone rings in your car in the middle of a parking lot with nobody to hear it, did it play a billable audition of someone's music? This will be the NEXT round of lawsuits. Or perhaps the argument to kill this one.
Once you are billing people for their phone ringing, what's to stop you from employing people to 'crank call' phones to make them ring, and boost your profits?

[quackadilly]

"Once you are billing
people for their phone ringing, what's to stop you from employing
people to 'crank call' phones to make them ring, and boost your profits?"



Now THAT would suck, but I wouldn't put it past "them".....

[freakpk]

So why don't they sue every singer on American Idol, Americas Got talent etc..? They perform copyrighted material to millions of people. Plus they can sue the networks as well. After that they can go after bar bands and those of us who sing in the shower too loudly....

[Evildave]

Yeah, but they PAY the writers the royalties.

I'm sure if the RIAA could figure out how to sue you for listening to music in your head, they would.