Published: Wednesday - June 7, 2006
Words by Miles Bennett
Eminem (Photo: Interscope)
Eminem's publishing companies have settled a lawsuit filed against five companies illegally selling the rapper's songs as cell phone ringtones.
Michigan-based Eight Miles Style and Martin Affiliated filed the lawsuit last October against five companies selling Eminem songs as ringtones on the internet (see "Eminem Suing Five Companies Selling His Songs As Ringtones"). The suit asked that the companies stop illegally selling Em's songs to make a profit.
According to the Detroit News, Em's reps reached an undisclosed settlement last week with one of the companies -- Colorado-based Cellus US.
Nextones.com, MyPhoneFiles and MatrixM are also named in the suit. But Cellus US is the only company to settle. Em's lawyers are also aiming block karaoke companies from selling Em's songs on their sing-along CDs without obtaining the proper licenses.
Howard Hertz, a lawyer for rapper, said illegal Eminem ring tones bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
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