The owners of Black Bear Saloon may wonder if it was worth playing the Fifth Harmony song, “Worth It”, now that they are being sued by music rights owners for playing copyrighted tunes without permission.
Right holders to three songs filed a copyright infringement suit against BB Allyn Street LLC, the owners of Black Bear Saloon at 187 Allyn St., Hartford, claiming the restaurant knowingly allowed the public performance of copyrighted songs without payment.
The right holders are all members of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
Eric Sherman, a partner at Black Bear owner BB Allyn Street LLC, declined to comment on the suit when contacted by phone Wednesday morning.
The ASCAP members are seeking up to $90,000 on all three counts. Besides, “Worth It,” the other songs named in the suit are “Party Rock Anthem” and, “Sexy and I Know It.” Two of the complaints were based on Oct. 2015 performances, while the third was for a Dec. 2015 performance, the complaint alleges.
The suit, filed in federal court in Connecticut, said ASCAP had tried 20 times through various means, including personal visits, since July 2014 to get BB Allyn Street to obtain a license to perform the music but the owners refused. ASCAP said in a statement a license costs about $2 per day.
Black Bear isn’t the first Connecticut establishment to get hit with a copyright suit for music. Another music rights organization, Broadcast Music International, has been suing in Connecticut for several decades.
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