DETROIT—Rapper Eminem settled a lawsuit with a Colorado-based content provider accused of illegally selling ringtones of the hip-hop star’s tunes.
Michigan-based Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated said they struck an agreement with Cellus USA Inc., one of five direct-to-consumer content companies targeted by the publishing companies for “blatant and unauthorized use” of ringtones based on Eminem’s hits. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, although a Cellus lawyer said the company agreed to stop distributing the ringtones, according to news reports.
Cellus, which was acquired in 2004 by Airborne Entertainment, offered clips based on Eminem hits including “The Real Slim Shady,” “My Name Is,” “Without Me” and others. The suit, filed last October in U.S. District Court in Detroit, underscores a growing concern about the increasing number of third-party content providers hawking ringtones, images and other proprietary content without obtaining legal rights.
“There’s quite a bit of that going on out there,” Ted Suh, chief marketing officer for wireless entertainment publisher 9 Squared Inc., said after the suit was filed last year. “Most of the time it’s for major hit songs.”
