Karaoke bar sued

[derek]

Ok I'm confused by the below article that is taking place in the state I live. As far as I can tell a bar has violated copy right laws for allowing people to sing. I'm not sure if its because people were singing copy righted music or the bar had illegal reproduced CD's. I mean if they were using normal karaoke CD's that were bought at store and now being sued for using them as intended, that is complete crap. It would allow for thousands of other suits.

I have researched this one but cannot find to much more infomation.

______________________________________________________________

Judge Rules Bar Broke Copyright Laws With Karaoke Night

POSTED: 12:08 pm EST March 21, 2006

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- A Fairfield restaurant is facing the possibility of paying thousands of dollars in fines for providing karaoke music.

The Bear and Grill Restaurant was hauled into federal court, accused of copyright infringements. An investigator from Broadcast Music Incorporated was in the audience the night of Oct. 28, 2003 for karaoke at the bar.

Amateur songsters belted out tunes, and the bar apparently didn't have a license for such live music.

A federal judge in Bridgeport, Conn., ruled sided with BMI.

Judge Janet Hall must now determine at an April 28 hearing how much the bar owners must pay BMI. If the company gets what it's asking for, the owners would have to pay a nearly $40,000 fine.

 

[texas_stang]

Maybe they were just real bad singers......LOL

 

[tedski]

The way some people sing, maybe they are being fined for exposing their patrons to hazardous noise levels.

 

[MichiganM]

These days you can sue if someone looks at ya crosseyed.

 

[tedski]

:squinteye

 

[Wasch_24]

Hmmmmm, there is definitely more to the story.

Maybe it wasn't the Karaoke but the public exhibition of the CDs without a license...like playing movies in public without being licensed as a theatre.

 

[MichiganM]

:squinteye

:stickbeat

:bouncetau

 

[scottsins]

This has nothing to do with any "litigation crisis".

If you own a bar and you use copyrighted material, you have to pay license fees. You can't just go to a store like a customer and buy a CD and play it for commercial use.

Different rules aply for commercial use, like what bars must pay for pay-per-view events, compared to what regular home subscribers pay.

It won't open up thousands of suits like this for two very good reasons:

1. There's no opening up, since the law is old and well-established in this area. Nothing new, precedent-wise about this.

2. MOST establishments follow the rules. You may not have known it, and I didn't either until I worked at a bar this summer. There are ways to try and skate around it, like subscribing to satellite TV sevice and playing the m,usic channels. If they come and investigate though, you could be in trouble. ANyhow, bars pay this as a cost of doing business, so there won't be some unjust "outbreak" of some "new" type of lawsuits.

 

[Wasch_24]

I was right then? Cool.

 

[scottsins]

Wasch, based on my somewhat limited knowledge of this stuff, partially from working in bars alot and partially from being an attorney, I am thinking that the case in fact does come down to the commercial use of copyrighted material without obtaining the proper licensing.

 

[scottsins]

oh, I took way too much time to basically say that you're right!

 

[derek]

Ah, that makes everything look a little clearer

 

[cvm4]

Great explanation Scott :thumbsup: That's why Vipe gave you front row parking

 

[joshua]

Wasch, based on my somewhat limited knowledge of this stuff, partially from working in bars alot and partially from being an attorney, I am thinking that the case in fact does come down to the commercial use of copyrighted material without obtaining the proper licensing.

Yeah this applies to playing of licensed music. My dad used to go around to businesses and help them legitimize their music by setting them up with a way to pay the licensing.

 

[tedski]

So what's the difference between this and having a jukebox in the bar?
Do you need a license for this too?

 

[tobby4]

Yea... all of those Karaoke CDs are for private use... You cannot profit off of the use of those CDs... Of course Scott would know better, but isnt it like Buying a DVD and charging individuals to watch it, or just letting them watch it but profiting in other forms from their being there???