are ring tones illegal?

i just downloaded 600+MB's of midi and mp3 ring tones, wallpapers and games for cell phones.

i want to offer these for download but is it legal?

 

My first guess is no. If they are real games that are sold and ringtones by real artists and stuff then probably not. If they are freeware and created by the person who put them up for download, then yeah.

 

If you don't have the right to distribute then it would be unwise to do so.

 

If they were freeware then you still may have to ask permission to redistribute, and you def can't sell them

 

yea i dont want to sell them.
i just wanted to make a download page where people can download ringtones/wallpapers

but its open season on anything that has to do with music so im just kinda wondering ya know.
=[

 

I almost got sued for giving away free ringtones, games, etc

Ringtones - 99% of them are copyrighted, especially mp3
Games - Even though i was trying to make sure they were free to redistribute it turned out half of them wont.
Wallpapers - Never had a problem

 

It's pretty easy. If you don't have, in writing, permission to distribute, from the owner, don't do it.

Wallpapers are art and are indeed under copyright. However, some wallpapers might have been created for the sole purpose of mass free distribution. (IE look what I did)

 

Pick a random ringtone, Hung Up by Madonna:
sells for $1.99 of which
~ $1 for infrastructure (SMS/distribution/payment/invoicing/routing etc)
~ $0.10 for madonna
~ $0.40 for producers
margin: $0.50 for retailer

If you start giving away this (same or look-a-like) ringtone you can bet 3 parties will be pissed and all three will sue your ass off

If , on the other hand, you have real original work (you played around with your midi keyboard ) you can do whatever you like ofcourse, just don't name your tune "Hung Up", or play the melody from it

 

that sucks.

oh well, i found the ringtones from a warez group so i know 1000's of people are getting this same huge batch of ringtones for free too.

hi RIAA

 

I also dont think this is legal because there is some sort of copyright on it!

 

<grin>

then it is very most likely illegal stuff

 

In theory if you want a ringtone you can just convert the song you bought using all those bits of software out there.

 

Yea. Although it does violate the copyright, but who's going to know right?

 

Just check posts by shoemoney - he is a specialist in ring tones and he used to write of many cases when he was approached with the complaints of violation of intellectual property rights. But still he seems to do great in this industry.

 

I don't believe for one second that every ringtone retailer either has the resale rights or is actually paying the copyright holders.

 

If everyone else is doing it, it doesn't mean that you are free to do it as well. Those people will fall into legal battles at some time or the other. The question you need to answer is if you have the necessary money to contest law suits. If you do, feel free to distribute copyrighted material without permission. You might get away with it, just be sure to understand the risks involved.

 

You can bet that if you don't have rights to the ringtones you are giving, or selling, the day they caught you, you will pay.
In the past I was contacted by lawyers, just for linking to a ringtones / logo provider, that didn't had the right for a specific content. And I was just an affiliate! So, today, I only use affiliate programs, that I know that have licensed content.

Be careful! They don't play. Even lyrics sites will be hit this year!

 

Then it's ok if everyone else does it.

That was sarcasm.