BMI, 8 Publishers Win $23,000 Damage Award for Ohio Tavern’s Willful Infringement

U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi for Eastern Ohio in Akron granted default judgment in favor of BMI and eight music publishers for the copyright infringement conduct of the Whiskey Stop Bar & Grill in Louisville, Ohio, and its owner Scott Kelly, said her signed order Tuesday (docket 5:23-cv-01889). The judge awarded the plaintiffs $22,939.55 in damages and attorneys' fees, plus interest, and permanently enjoined the defendants from further infringing the plaintiffs' musical compositions. The plaintiffs alleged six claims of willful copyright infringement, based on the defendants’ unauthorized public performance of musical compositions from the BMI repertoire (see 2309290002).