Tucson Tavern Guilty of 5 Claims of Willful Infringement, Say BMI, 7 Music Publishers

BMI and seven music publishers allege five claims of willful copyright infringement against the Outlaw Bar & Grill, a Tucson establishment, and its owner, Brian Crump, based on their unauthorized public performance of musical compositions from the BMI repertoire, said their complaint Tuesday (docket 4:24-cv-00269) in U.S. District Court for Arizona. BMI has reached out to Crump and the establishment more than 50 times since July 2021 in an effort to educate them about their obligations under the Copyright Act and the necessity of purchasing a license for the public performance of the protected musical compositions, said the complaint. Included in the letters and the emails were cease and desist notices, providing the defendants with formal notice that because of their failure to purchase a license, they must immediately cease all use of BMI-licensed music at the establishment, it said. The specific acts of willful copyright infringement alleged, plus the defendants’ “entire course of conduct,” have caused and are causing BMI and the music publisher plaintiffs “great and incalculable damage,” said the complaint. By continuing to provide unauthorized public performances of works in the BMI repertoire at the establishment, the defendants “threaten to continue committing copyright infringement,” it said. Unless the court restrains the defendants from further acts of copyright infringement, the plaintiffs “will suffer irreparable injury, with no adequate remedy at law,” it said.