Productions and Aftermath Records unambiguously applied to permanent downloads and mastertones offered through third party distributors.

Productions, LLC ("FBT") signed fellow Plaintiff, rap artist Marshall Bruce Mathers III (stage name Eminem), to a recording contract.

[2] Beginning in 2001, Defendants licensed various third parties the right to distribute over the Internet, recordings of Eminem in the form of music downloads and ringtones.

[2] United States District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez denied Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the contract agreements were too ambiguous as to how to calculate royalties for downloads and ringtones.

As such, the court ruled that both parties' reasonable expectations for download and ringtone royalties at the time of the agreement was that of a sale.

'"[1] Thus it started by reiterating the district court's conclusion that since either the "Records Sold" or the "Masters Licensed" provision could apply to the downloads, that neither the Plaintiffs' nor the Defendant's motions for summary judgment could be granted due to an inherent ambiguity.

[1] The court then discussed whether or not Aftermath licensed the music to third party distributors, making extensive use of the Copyright Act of 1976, including references to sections 17 U.S.C.

failed to complain about the lower royalty rates until the audit in 2006, claiming this demonstrated acquiescence on the part of the Plaintiff.

The court therefore concluded that the Defendants owed Plaintiffs a royalty rate of 50% for downloads and ringtones under the "Masters Licensed" provision.