SOCAN pleased with Supreme Court of Canada’s decision

SOCAN is pleased with the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) recent decision to dismiss, with costs, the application presented by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) and two of its members, Bell Mobility Inc. and Telus Communications Company, to the SCC for a review of the Federal Court of Canada’s decision earlier this year.

The decision confirms SOCAN’s position that the transmission of a ringtone to subscribers by ringtone suppliers constitutes a "communication to the public by telecommunication” and allows SOCAN to seek licence fees from wireless carriers for the communication of musical works via ringtones in Canada.

“The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision sustaining the Federal Court of Appeal’s Decision confirms the decision made by the Copyright Board allowing SOCAN to license these new media communications,” says Paul Spurgeon, Vice President Legal Services and General Counsel, SOCAN.

Tariff 24 authorizes SOCAN to collect royalties on the wireless transmission of ringtones requested by cell phone users from wireless carriers. Under the ruling, all wireless carriers must obtain a licence to communicate a ringtone or make a ringtone available to the public for the years 2003-2005. The royalty payable is 6 per cent of the price paid by the subscriber for the ringtone, net of any network usage fees, subject to a minimum royalty of 6˘ each time a ringtone is supplied in 2004 or 2005.