Decison of the U.S. Copyright Office
In sum, and as stated more fully below, we believe that ringtones (including monophonic
and polyphonic ringtones, as well as mastertones) qualify as digital phonorecord deliveries
(“DPDs”) as defined in 17 U.S.C. § 115. Apart from meeting the formal requirements of
Section 115 (e.g., service of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory license under Section
115(b)(1), submission of statements of account and royalty payments, etc.), whether a particular
ringtone falls within the scope of the statutory license will depend primarily upon whether what
is performed is simply the original musical work (or a portion thereof), or a derivative work (i.e.,
a musical work based on the original musical work but which is recast, transformed, or adapted
in such a way that it becomes an original work of authorship and would be entitled to copyright
protection as a derivative work).
