VZW, UMG could see lawsuit over reggae ringtones

The family of late reggae star Bob Marley said they will sue Verizon Wireless and Universal Music Group in response to an exclusive ringtone deal announced earlier this week.
Verizon Wireless on Tuesday trumpeted an exclusive pact to offer ringtones and ringback tones from more than two dozen Marley tunes including “I Shot the Sheriff,” “Jammin'” and “Three Little Birds.” But Fifty Six Hope Road Music Ltd., the company owned by the family of the reggae icon, said the deal “was entered into without the permission of the Marley Family.”
“The agreement was not in accordance with Marley’s longstanding contract with Universal Music Group,” according to a statement from the company, “and subsequently a lawsuit will be filed.”
A representative from Verizon Wireless redirected questions to UMG, which provides the ringtones to the carrier. UMG executives said in a prepared statement that they had not received a suit from the Marley estate, but that the family’s claims “are meritless” and that the ringtone agreement is “in accordance with the terms of a long-standing contract between Bob Marley and UMG.”
The feud underscores the legal headaches that continue to plague the ringtone industry. Publishers and artists have long grappled with pirated content and other licensing issues, and EMI Entertainment World earlier this year slapped InfoSpace Inc. with a $100 million lawsuit, claiming the mobile content company had been underpaying royalties and selling ringtones without proper licensing rights.