Seattle Judge rules ‘Yellow Pages Phone Book Distributor License’ Legal

Yellow pages publishers bought a lawsuit against the City of Seattle for enacting an ordinance that necessitates the purchase of a ‘yellow pages phone book distributor license’ in addition to the City of Seattle business license they were previously required to obtain.

Council members enacted this ordinance after receiving numerous complaints from residents over the too-frequent distribution of yellow pages phone books. In order to qualify for the new license, phone book distributors would have to comply with regulations that would protect the interests of city residents.

For example, yellow pages publishers now have to run an ad on the cover page of the phone book with information of who to contact if a resident wants to avoid receiving the phone book. Additionally, phone book publishers now have to pay a $.14 business tax per phone book distributed.

Nick McCann explains in the Courthouse News Service, another aspect of the ordinance, in that it creates an "opt-out registry ... for residents and businesses to register and indicate their desire not to receive delivery of some or all yellow pages phone books."

U.S. District Judge James Robart upheld the legality of these regulations after Dex Media West, SuperMedia and Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association sued the city over their ‘yellow pages ordinance.’

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