Are <= 30 second ringtones fair use?

Posted on September 14, 2007, 1:03 pm, by EricaJoy, under ringtones.

Question:

If I make a <= 30 second ringtone from a song that I have purchased legally and share it with people, not for profit, with credit back to the original artist, does that qualify as fair use? Will the RIAA come beating down my door (assuming they don’t get scared by my neighborhood) waving lawyers and frivolous lawsuits?

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  • jevaun

    I don’t think it’s covered as Fair Use. Too much money to be made by the artists and record labels. sorry.

    The Marley Family and Verizon just had a dust-up over ringtone money, so I’m afraid somebody would probably come after you….

  • http://behindthebuzz.com Rachel Clarke

    Probably not. You’re using a substantial amount of the song (30 second of a 3min song?) and you are not using it to comment on it, parody it, to educate with it. Sharing them would probably not fall under fair use. Then again, fair use is a very fluid definition but you are talking about the RIAA and about something they believe they can make money on.

  • http://jasonoconnell.com Jason

    I hate that we live in a society where we actually have to ponder questions such as these. If I buy something I should be able to freely do what I damn well please with it.

  • http://www.cross-spectrum.com/weblog Herb Singleton

    (hey, some of us *do* read your blog)

    IANAL, but I would guess that using a song snippet as a ringtone is fair use as long as 1) the license you obtained when you purchased the song doesn’t expressly forbid it, and 2) you don’t distribute it.

    I think you could pretty much guarantee that the RIAA SWAT team would show up if you did distribute them, even for no cost.

    Maybe Brandy Karl (http://www.brandykarl.com/) (twitter: brandyk) could give you a more definitive answer?

    Scared of your neighborhood? There’s no place in NYC that’s *that* scary ;)

  • http://blog.ericabaker.com EricaJoy

    Damn. Well there goes my sharing efforts. Who know something I learned in kindergarten would end up being wrong?

  • Hubba

    I make my own ringtones rather than buying them (at http://makeownringtone.com/) but sharing is risky, don't do it.

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