CHARLES TOWN, W.V. —Several large music labels are suing a Jefferson County billiards and bar establishment over alleged copyright infringement.
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), Abkco Music Inc., Welsh Witch Music, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, Suffer in Silence Music, Sams Jammin Songs, Painted Desert Music Corporation, Jeff Diggs Music, Universal Music MGB NA LLC (doing business as Universal Music Careers) and Concord Music Group Inc. (doing business as Jondora Music) filed a lawsuit on Jan. 19 in the Northern District Court of West Virginia against Longshots Billiards LLC, doing business as Longshots Billiards, and Mattelynn Hancock over claims that the defendants violated the United States Copyright Act of 1976.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs assert that since August 2014, BMI has reached out to defendants more than 90 times by phone, in-person and by mail, in an effort to educate defendants as to their obligations under the Copyright Act of 1976 with respect to the necessity of purchasing a license for the public performance of musical compositions in the BMI repertoire. The plaintiffs allege six claims of willful copyright infringement based upon the defendants' unauthorized public performance of musical compositions from the BMI repertoire.
The plaintiffs assert that the specific acts of copyright infringement, as well as the defendants’ entire course of conduct, have caused and are causing the plaintiffs great and incalculable damage. They also claim that by continuing to provide unauthorized public performances of works in the BMI repertoire at the Longshot Billiards, the defendants threaten to continue committing copyright infringement; and unless the court restrains defendants from committing further acts of copyright infringement, plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury for which they have no adequate remedy by law.
They are suing for the defendant to be enjoined and restrained from infringing, in any manner, on the copyrighted musical compositions licensed by BMI, statutory damages, attorney fees and any other relief deemed just by the court. They are represented by Bridget M. Cohee from the office of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Martinsburg.
Northern District Court of West Virginia Case number 3:16-cv-10-GMG