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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Is this legal / Ethical ?
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09/12/2006 11:54:18 PM · #1
I found a program that will allow you to put any MP3 song that you own as a ringtone on your phone.

Phone companies charge up to $3 to download a song as a ringtone.

Is it legal for me to use a song I already own as a ringtone, even though I have to do it through a 3rd party software?

Skid
09/12/2006 11:56:50 PM · #2
it's legal AND ethical
(provided that mp3 is not an illegal copy)

modern phones usually support many formats as ringtones,
so what you're doing is completely normal.

Message edited by author 2006-09-12 23:58:07.
09/12/2006 11:57:30 PM · #3
GO FOR IT.
09/12/2006 11:58:47 PM · #4
Ok ...you can get program called Bitpim.

Go here
09/12/2006 11:59:45 PM · #5
The question is probably: Do you really own the song?

If a photographer takes your picture and you buy an 8x10 of it... do you really own it? Can you scan it and take it in to Walmart and have them make another 8x10 for you?

Who owns the copyright?


09/13/2006 12:13:55 AM · #6
You'd have to check and see what your useage rights are for the song. I know a lot of software is really limited, not sure how it works with songs.
09/13/2006 12:19:43 AM · #7
The general (legal and ethical) guideline is that you can shift the song between media for your own use; you can't give (or sell) any of the copies to anyone else.
09/13/2006 12:28:39 AM · #8
Hey I'm looking for the theme to Highlander for my phone anybod have it?????
09/13/2006 12:30:02 AM · #9
I think what you should be asking is if it is ethical for phone carriers to charge obscene amounts of money for 15 seconds of a song?

Screw them & convert away! You are not selling the mp3.
09/13/2006 12:32:15 AM · #10
If you have a modern phone with bluetooth you can do this without wires and special software. All you need is a USB bluetooth adaptor. They are cheep now some as low as $20. Your phone shows up on your computer much like an I-pod and then you can drag and drop data like mp3's screensavers appointments javagames and other goodies. Also if you have a bluetooth headset you can use it for VOIP on your computer. Make shure that you keep your files small not a lot of memory in most phones.
09/13/2006 01:19:37 AM · #11
Originally posted by drz01:

If you have a modern phone with bluetooth you can do this without wires and special software. All you need is a USB bluetooth adaptor. They are cheep now some as low as $20. Your phone shows up on your computer much like an I-pod and then you can drag and drop data like mp3's screensavers appointments javagames and other goodies.

My Verizon won't. But then again they keep disabling phones so they get MONEY! I don't use my phone that much, so I don't care. and the cell is all I have. Yes, I am becoming a Hermit :)
And Mac's will bring up almost anything just by plugging them in. NO software. Stupid Verizon

Message edited by author 2006-09-13 01:20:38.
09/13/2006 01:35:09 AM · #12
Verizon is famous for crippling their phones. Disabling bluetooth, disabling file transfers.. etc.

There is nothing wrong with putting your own sounds/music onto your phone. The phone and ringtone companies just hope that you'll never figure out that you can do it yourself. $1-$3 per sound bite is a lot of profit for them.
09/13/2006 01:48:40 AM · #13
I know photographers who charge $12 for a 4x6. I have a really hard time swallowing that (the photographer that shot my daughter's wedding is one of them). But I still don't feel right making copies of an image from one of these photographers "just because the price is outrageous".

So I have to wonder ... all of you here are photographers, right? You all want to own the copyrights to your works and to be compensated appropriately for what you do, right?

So how is that that you can so easily justify making copies of another artist's copyrighted work?

If the terms and conditions of your purchase allow you to make such copies, then the above obviously does not apply to you. I'm referring to those who don't have, or don't even know if they have, permission to copy another artist's work.

I just feel ... What goes around, comes around. Practice what you preach. Etc, etc.


09/13/2006 02:03:02 AM · #14
Hmmm, I think that you can put the equivalent photo story this way:

if you buy a photo in a form of jpeg, can you only look at it at your computer, or can you also put it on TV, or PDA? This is closer to owning mp3 of a song.

Paper photo would be equivalent to owning a CD or a tape or a record...
09/13/2006 02:05:32 AM · #15
Originally posted by kenskid:

Is it legal for me to use a song I already own as a ringtone, even though I have to do it through a 3rd party software?

I believe it is legal, since:
1. he owns the song
2. it's for his personal use
09/13/2006 05:45:17 AM · #16
Originally posted by Rooster:

I think what you should be asking is if it is ethical for phone carriers to charge obscene amounts of money for 15 seconds of a song?


I believe (if anyone knows better, please correct me) that some of the money charged is actually licensing fees that are paid to the artist or whoever owns the copyright (how much, I don't know - the phone carrier may still be making a nice profit on it).

AFAIK, copyright law (at least in Australia, and I assume - possibly incorrectly - the same would apply in other Berne Convention signatory countries) does NOT include the right to duplicate songs onto other media (e.g. CD to MP3 player/computer/etc.), even for personal use. You get the right to play the song in private, but all other rights (performance, duplication, etc.) are reserved. Yes, many people do it, and it's probably difficult to get caught, but that doesn't make it legally valid.

If someone is distributing their music as MP3s on the net, the rights they give away could be different - depends on the artist in question.

By analogy, if I purchase a photographic print from someone else, then I get the right to display it in my home, but I don't get the right to make a copy for each room.
09/13/2006 06:09:38 AM · #17
Originally posted by dwterry:

I know photographers who charge $12 for a 4x6. I have a really hard time swallowing that (the photographer that shot my daughter's wedding is one of them). But I still don't feel right making copies of an image from one of these photographers "just because the price is outrageous".

So I have to wonder ... all of you here are photographers, right? You all want to own the copyrights to your works and to be compensated appropriately for what you do, right?

So how is that that you can so easily justify making copies of another artist's copyrighted work?

If the terms and conditions of your purchase allow you to make such copies, then the above obviously does not apply to you. I'm referring to those who don't have, or don't even know if they have, permission to copy another artist's work.

I just feel ... What goes around, comes around. Practice what you preach. Etc, etc.


There's already long established law that allows anyone to media shift a recording they purchased. The infringement happens ONLY if they try to sell copies of the recording they purchased.

The RIAA would like everyone to pay a royalty everytime we listen to any music "protected" under their umbrella. Just because that is what they want, it doesn't make it right.
09/13/2006 07:52:10 AM · #18
There is a lot of confusion surrounding this topic.

The strict legal answer is that you cannot make a copy of the song unless you have permission to do so or you come within an exemption. In most common law systems there is no legal exemption for "personal use", nor "media shifting".

However, in practice, media companies pay little or no attention to media shifting for personal use. There is no risk that you would be criticised for using the software to make your own ringtones. The risk would arise if you posted your converted files somewhere for others to download.

The big issue relates to the providers of hardware and software designed to facilitate this process: eg iTunes and iPod, for which the issue is a muti-billion dollar issue. At that level, it becomes a political matter as much as a protracted and devilishly complicated legal one.

It is reasonable to take your moral guidance on the matter from the way in which the big ticket disputes are resolved: there is an expectation that shifting will take place, and the commercial issues are worked out at the top level. I would not have many qualms about your proposed use.
09/13/2006 09:13:17 AM · #19
"Is this legal / Ethical ?"

Which of these do you want it to be? These are quite separate and often mutually exclusive terms.
09/13/2006 09:17:14 AM · #20
Originally posted by dwterry:


So I have to wonder ... all of you here are photographers, right? You all want to own the copyrights to your works and to be compensated appropriately for what you do, right?

So how is that that you can so easily justify making copies of another artist's copyrighted work?


What I say now probably makes me a non-photographer, but all I care about, is my right to be recognized as the author of my photos. As for copyrights, I don't care if anyone makes money on those as long as the pictures reach people who like them (assuming there are any such around).
09/13/2006 10:06:49 AM · #21
Originally posted by jhuang:

Verizon is famous for crippling their phones. Disabling bluetooth, disabling file transfers.. etc.

There is nothing wrong with putting your own sounds/music onto your phone. The phone and ringtone companies just hope that you'll never figure out that you can do it yourself. $1-$3 per sound bite is a lot of profit for them.


so are you saying this link will let me figure out how to put my own song on my Verizon Chocolate as a ringtone?

I really really hate the ringtone selection that Verizon allows you access to.
09/13/2006 10:13:19 AM · #22
I guess the photographic anology will be this:

If I purchase 8x10 from a photographer, can I scan it and print a wallet size print to carry around with me or should I buy a separate wallet size print from the photographer?

09/13/2006 10:21:35 AM · #23
So...

If your phone rings in public, is it a performance? ;)
09/13/2006 10:41:48 AM · #24
Originally posted by Nikolai1024:

I guess the photographic anology will be this:

If I purchase 8x10 from a photographer, can I scan it and print a wallet size print to carry around with me or should I buy a separate wallet size print from the photographer?

that's a riot!

just like software, should you make a personal backup of the prints you buy, just in case the original gets damaged?
09/13/2006 11:21:49 AM · #25
Originally posted by kenskid:

Phone companies charge up to $3 to download a song as a ringtone.

This is the part I find unethical. It's rediculous that companies will charge you this amount and make it nearly impossible for you to put you own music on your phone. Palm based phones it's airly easy, but other phone can be a pain. Big Business.. BLEH!
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