Magistrate Judge Orders May 10 Update on Settlement Talks Between BMI, N.J. Tavern

In light of settlement talks that appear to be “ongoing” between BMI and Maggie’s Bar & Grill in Jackson, New Jersey (see 2403070027), U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne Bongiovanni for New Jersey in Trenton ordered the parties to submit an additional status update regarding those talks by May 10, said her text order Wednesday (docket 3:23-cv-03135). BMI contacted the restaurant’s managers more than 80 times since October 2019 about the necessity of “purchasing a license for the public performance of musical compositions in the BMI repertoire,” said the June 7 complaint from BMI and five music publishers (see 2306080044). They allege six claims of willful copyright infringement against the establishment, based on its “unauthorized public performance of musical compositions.”