AeschTunes

Bob Marley’s estate has objected to a ringtone deal struck between Universal Music and Verizon Wireless, claiming that Verizon had not received permission from the family before using Marley’s music and his likeness on their website.  Marley’s estate has threatened legal action against Verizon, claiming trademark infringement.  Verizon, meanwhile, casts the dispute as between Universal and the Marley estate.

On Monday, Verizon had taken down the songs to give the two parties a chance to work things out; however, on Thursday, the wireless carrier put the material back online.  Universal, meanwhile, says that the deal only involves ringtones, and doesn’t constitute an endorsement of Verizon; also, the label stated that the ringtones will eventually be made available for sale by all wireless carriers.

This is a particuarly thorny issue, in large part because a lot depends on who owns what copyrights and what rights they have in conjunction with their copyrights.  If Universal has the right to make these kind of deals with Bob Marley’s music, and those rights don’t include a provision saying they need the estate’s permission, then I don’t think the Marley estate will have much of a leg to stand on.  However, if it turns out that these kind of deals can only be made with the blessing of both Universal and the Marley estate, then there may be grounds for the Marley estate to take legal action.