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TAGGED AS PETER MANTAS

Carriers, SOCAN await court’s decision on ringtone money

telecom | 09/04/2014 6:55 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) outlined in Federal Court this week a multi-layered defence against an attempt by wireless carriers to reclaim about $12 million in royalties paid out for the downloading of ringtones. It argued that a 2012 Supreme Court decision that BCE Inc., Telus Corp., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. base much of their argument on — involving the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) versus SOCAN, where the court found that the downloading of music was not a “communication” subject to tariff — was not relevant to Tariff 24 on ringtones. However, SOCAN said that if the court determines that the above-mentioned case does in fact establish that ringtone downloads are not a...