QUESTION
I have an idea for a mobile phone all which connects a set of phones and streams music from other phones is this legal?
Asked on Mar 17th, 2013 on Entertainment Law - Nebraska
More details to this question:
I have an idea for a smartphone app, but I am concerned about the legal implications. The idea is a group music player. For example, if there are 5 friends in a room, the app will connect the phones and have a master phone. The master phone will then select a phone randomly and play a song from it. For this, the master phone will have to stream music from the other phones. Music will never be downloaded or saved from one phone to another, but one phone will have the capability to stream music from others. My thinking is this is as good as 5 friends sitting in a room and playing a song from their own phones, except that the phones are doing their job. Only concern is the streaming part. A lawsuit is the last thing I want as a software professional and it would be great if a law guru can provide me advice on streaming laws. I searched online about streaming laws, but I am not sure about whether this is legal or not. Please help. Thanks.
2 ANSWERS
Any duplication of a song that either is not already in the public domain or is not done with the permission of the copyright holder is a violation of copyright law. The receipt of a song via a phone and the subsequent playing of that song fits that definition.
Answered on Mar 19th, 2013 at 12:17 AM
Susan Marie Basko
I think you should talk to a patent agent and get a method patent on it as fast as you can. Once you have the method patent, then you can worry about how to make it work, and then worry about all the possible legalities. There are phones now that also act as walkie-talkies, and there is a walkie-talkie app that turns a cell phone into a walkie-talkie. I think your music app will probably be similar to that. There will also be music law involved, such as if playing a song on different phones means it is streaming and is a royalty required. Technology moves must faster than law. Get the patent, get the technology, and then deal with the law. Surely this is illegal in some or many ways, but don't let that stop you from developing technology. You can always deal with the legalities on the back end.
Answered on Mar 19th, 2013 at 12:17 AM