FL District Court Sanctions Karaoke Bar Owners for Unlicensed Performance of Copyrighted Songs

Holding:

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued sanctions against owners of a karaoke bar for performing copyrighted songs without necessary licenses. According to the District Court, the logical interpretation of "public performance" is a performance at a place open to the public; proprietors are generally liable if their entertainers or employees perform copyrighted works. Defendants Julie Ann’s, Inc. and Julie Ann Bible owned and operated the Pegasus Lounge and were responsible for determining its music policy. They had been on notice of copyright infringement for four years, but refused to obtain the required licenses which would have cost them $3,375.46 during that period. Accordingly, the District Court awarded Plaintiffs statutory damages in an amount three times the amount of the unpaid fees, that is, $10,126.38 plus $774.49 in investigative costs, for a total of $10,900.87. Further, finding that the acts of infringement were intentional, the District Court awarded Plaintiffs an additional $12,987.08 in attorneys' fees and costs.

Detailed Summary:

On October 16, 2006, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (“ASCAP”), a performing rights licensing organization, filed a complaint with MLE Music, Hampshire House Publishing Corp., and Sony/ATV Tunes, LLC, against Defendants, Julie Ann Bible and Julie Ann’s, Inc.  Plaintiffs asserted four causes of action for copyright infringement based on Defendants’ public performance of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted musical compositions.  Plaintiffs claimed that on May 3-4, 2006, four of their copyrighted songs were performed for profit and without their permission at Pegasus Lounge.  Order, p. 2, citing Dkt. 1, citing 17 U.S.C. Sections 101-810.  Plaintiffs requested an order enjoining Defendants from…

More Updates