Local pub gets sued
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The Associated Press
Published: December 1, 2008
PROVIDENCE—A Providence tavern is facing a federal lawsuit for allegedly not paying for songs played at the pub.
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is representing artists who have sued Patrick’s Pub for allegedly violating federal copyright laws four times in February when a band played songs including Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” and Tom Petty’s “The Waiting.“
The copyright holders are seeking $750 to $30,000 for each alleged violation.
ASCAP is seeking a settlement of $17,000.
Pub owner Patrick Griffin says he doesn’t have that kind of money and fears the lawsuit could shut the pub he has owned since 1992.
An ASCAP lawyer says it tried to get Griffin to enter into a licensing agreement and a lawsuit is the course of last resort.
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Posted by ( Teeitup! ) on December 01, 2008 at 7:48 pm
That is absolutely crazy.. This Pub is one of the few places in RI that can pour a good pint of Guinness. So the thought of the Pub shutting down is even crazier!
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Posted by ( Gcpezza ) on December 01, 2008 at 2:31 pm
The key word here is “Copyright Holder.“ I’ll bet you that the suers are not Tom Petty or Bob Marley and this organization is representing the Label companies and not the artists which they are suppose to do.
Plaintiff’s are probably Sony, Capitol, Epic, Motown etc… Any boycott should be directed to them instead of the artist who rarely gets to hold thier copyright.
I had a band when I was younger. Do I have to worry about the Beatles, Three Dog Night, Chicago and others finding out.
The results of all this will be bands playing original music which is not a bad thing.
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Posted by ( Smitty ) on December 01, 2008 at 1:55 pm
I surely agree with that—how many times are tunes played in bars and pubs with no payments to ASCAP or the authors? How many times are songs recorded over the radio and not a penny is paid to those Scrooges?
A lawsuit against the musician playing the tune is one thing, (and is still ridiculous) but one against the owner of the establishment where a musician happened to play such a tune is another. This lawsuit is total BS. It should be thrown out of court.
From here on in, I also won’t buy another single CD. I have a radio, a tape recorder and a CD burner. I’ll make my own.
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Posted by ( Cynthia Rockwell ) on December 01, 2008 at 1:13 pm
The information is not really clear. ‘Live’ clubs around the entire universe have had bands play copyrighted songs all night long every night and have never been sued for copyright infringement. Why was this pub singled out for litigation?
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Posted by ( Verne ) on December 01, 2008 at 10:52 am
After seeing this article about the richest people in the country sueing a small time pub owner for playing and promoting their music,,,I WILL NEVER buy another CD or any other form of recorded music EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!
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