Major record labels are suing two Singaporean companies that
sell mobile phone ring tones without paying royalties, according to
a report by Business Times which appears on the web site of AsiaOne
News. The unnamed companies are also being sued by Phee! Phoo!, a
wireless content provider, for infringing the copyrights in its
images.
According to Business Times, The Music Publishers Society of
Singapore, which represents the major labels Sony, BMG, EMI,
Universal and Warner, as well as eight smaller music publishers,
sued last week.
Phee! Phoo! sells mobile logos, picture messages and screen
savers. It alleges that its images have been stolen and re-sold.
The company is reported to be taking its own legal proceedings
while also seeking criminal penalties against those
responsible.
Dulcie Soh, of BMG, is quoted by Business Times, saying:
“The [ring tone] industry is growing, and we
have to put a cap on it and educate them on what copyrights are. We
are targeting some of the major players to use as examples to the
smaller ones.”
