The Lawsuits Have Started In Virgina

[ronw]

Beware KJs, Slep-Tone Entertaiment and Sound Choice Studios Are putting spotters in restaurants, bars, grills, etc. They where at one of my shows in September 2009. I was served with a lawsuite on Jan 13 2010 for displaying the Sound Choice marks without right or license at my karaoke show. You can click on the following link to view suite.

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cou...ase_id-249441/

[ddouglass]

Are you playing illegal copies of their music or do you have your originals?
Looks like they hit everybody including the establishments.

[ddouglass]

Ron you may find this document useful in your lawsuit.
http://www.uskaraokealliance.com/ima...elease9-08.pdf

[ronw]

Yes i have my originals I was just filling in for someone that night, I run a clean show i dont play any singers copied songs kind of sad

[bryant]

Originally Posted by ronw

Yes i have my originals I was just filling in for someone that night, I run a clean show i dont play any singers copied songs kind of sad

Didn't they ask you for the originals of the songs they witnessed...I mean how else can they say that you were displaying "unlicensed" material?

[ronw]

Hi Bryant i run my shows of a laptop no one said anything to me at all that night the lawsuite said they just blend in they sing songs take pictures of your songbook like i told dale, I was just filling in for some one that night for all i no they could have been there to get him i no he has more then 20000 songs in his books in the lawsuite sound choice has as a settlement offer to by there Complete Catalog of 5,200 songs for 6,500 dollers and they will drop the lawsuit thats what i dont understand

[Ragnar35]

It would appear that Sound Choice is fishing with a large net. How, exactly, do they verify that a KJ who performs at a bar with a computer DOESN'T have a legal CDG for each computer file they play in a bar?

I may have missed something, but it does appear that they served a large number of bars and KJs with a lawsuit, forcing them to defend themselves, without any evidence to prove that the KJs were operating illegally.

[ddouglass]

You hit it right on the head. No evidence.

[muzicman144]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

You hit it right on the head. No evidence.

I'm waiting for this thing to backfire on Sound Choice with an innocent kj suing SC for slander and other charges, but in reality, as i have stated numerous times, I believe that the percentage of at least one illegal file in a KJ's files is pretty high. Years ago before all of this illegal and legal things were happening, little thought was given to the illegality of exchanging a few copied disk with friends or even fellow kj's as This was before legality of the hard drive or computer issue we deal with now.At that time, i'm sure no one considered it illegal.
muzicman144

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by Ragnar35

It would appear that Sound Choice is fishing with a large net. How, exactly, do they verify that a KJ who performs at a bar with a computer DOESN'T have a legal CDG for each computer file they play in a bar?

I may have missed something, but it does appear that they served a large number of bars and KJs with a lawsuit, forcing them to defend themselves, without any evidence to prove that the KJs were operating illegally.

Civil suits aren't innocent until proven guilty. They are merely a preponderance of evidence. Just ask OJ It doesn't even do you any good to plead the 5th. Then the judge only hears one side and still has to decide the case. Big business does this to the little guys all the time. Just sue them until they run out of money. You can't get a Public Defender like you can in a criminal case. The one with the deepest pockets usually wins.

[ddouglass]

But Mark what "evidence" do they have? Someone in there employee went to the person's show, saw asinger singing a Sound Choice song, photographed the entry in the Songbook and with that they sue?? They have tried this before and had it thrown out of court for lack of evidence.
They are desperate and trying to get people to give them money by blackmail period.

[Musicman51]

The little guys relief is rather simple. You take the verdict, file bankrupt, and be done with it..yes you can do this under a civil suit. Plead you are insolvent, and indigent. And you're rid of it. However, that won't help you next time, unless they bust you 8 years later..lol

But this point is actually moot anyway. As sound choice and their "Paid By Case Win" lawyers will not be taking any cases to court. It's to their advantage, and only profitable to them, if you do something stupid like sign something, and settle out of court.

Kurt has said on another forum, i have a copy of the post. That their purpose is not to fight piracy, but to simply recoup their loses because of piracy. Big difference. It's a money thing, not a moral thing to them. He said in so many words he's too busy to fight piracy, it's not his job.

You will be able to count on one hand the cases that actually go to court. Visit the court website, and read the rather sloppy court filings that sound choice {attorney} filed, the author of this thread has posted them. It reads like one long SC infomercial. If this whole situation wasn't so sad..it would be hilarious.

[Musicman51]

Here's something i found on another forum on this subject. I wish i could take credit for it but i can't. But i found it very truthful and a very good point. This author was refering to several disc that sound choice manufactured, without first securing the legal rights to do so. One in particular was the eagles disc, that not being the only one however.

IMHO, I think SC has perpetuated the world's biggest snow job on most KJ's.
Everyone seems to want to waive the flag as though SC is the most honest,
upstanding, sterling company that ever existed and that they are somehow only an
innocent "victim" in the piracy problem. Wake up and smell the coffee, they are
not. They are not doing anything now that champions the legal KJ and is out to
slay the pirates... exactly the opposite; they will leave the legal KJ's alone
and simply sell discs to the pirates. They're not out to put pirates out of
business, they are out to sell them $6,500 worth of discs.... period.

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by Musicman51

Here's something i found on another forum on this subject.

Do you remember when SC moved their custom disk operation to Australia? They did so to circumvent the copyright holders in the US. There are others, but one example is the Beatles catalog. Most have not been released for Karaoke in the US. In Australia, they merely pay a standard rate and can do any song they so chose. Then just mail it to the US. No US laws have been broken until it is used in a show. Let the KJ break the law by performing it in public.

[Musicman51]

In the best case scenario, you have to spend at least a couple hundred on a lawyer to get this thrown out. Who has to pay for this? You do. ]

I'm sure some guys would much much rather spend $200 or so, then $6,500. But that aside, SC is counting on you to settle, that is the only only way they get anything. Here in michigan a couple of years ago, they tested the waters here, and of course lost. It was a slightly different scenerio, but they still lost. And i predict they will in this instance as well. Their lawyers will make a few bucks, and so will SC off the ones they strong arm. But thats about the long and short of it.

My advice, learn to live with the pirates. Once a pirate gets a smell of that easy money, all the law suites in the world won't git shun of them. They will just move around, and pop up someplace else. Just like the illegal DJ's have been doing since a front loading table top CD player with effects was invented. They're sadly...still here.

I actually don't see it as a direct problem to me, a pirate could never get a foot into the club i'm in. But with that being said, i have talked to many many kj's across the country. Believe it or not, most actually aren't worried about pirates..really. There are a few so so kj's that claim to have been put out by a throat cutting pirate. But after a short conversation with a few, i wonder if that is really the case, or simply a poor performer..hard to say.

I have actually accepted the fact that it's going to be part of the business...and i gotta just learn to deal with it. Do i like it? of course not. But like it or not, they're right here to stay buddy boy. Sound Choice seems to be having a melt down because of so called "lost profits". But, you don't hear a peep out of any other manu, or provider. I think it's all one big money making fiasco...And i will go out on a limb and make another prediction. Sound Choice's download joke {site} will be a losing proposistion as well...Just too many guy's P.O'd.

I know right now, sound choice hasn't done one thing to me, or anyone i am associated with in this business..yet we all still woundn't buy a disc from them if it were pressed in gold. Thats what SC has created across the country.....

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

But Mark what "evidence" do they have? Someone in there employee went to the person's show, saw asinger singing a Sound Choice song, photographed the entry in the Songbook and with that they sue?? They have tried this before and had it thrown out of court for lack of evidence.
They are desperate and trying to get people to give them money by blackmail period.

You are absolutely right, but lack of evidence doesn't stop people from filing lawsuits. I have been sued several times in my 20+ years in the bar business. All but one of them were absolutely ludicrous. Even that one was a pretty big stretch. I have defended myself on all these occasions, but I wouldn't recommend that for most people. I have been lucky enough to get all of them in small claims where it is less formal.

In the best case scenario, you have to spend at least a couple hundred on a lawyer to get this thrown out. Who has to pay for this? You do. Even in my cases I had to spend a lot of my valuable time getting all my ducks in a row. The worst thing you can do is come to court unprepared. In business, you weigh the risk/reward for all your decisions. When you decide to file suit against someone there is very little, if any, risk involved in suing someone. The rewards, on the other hand, can be great.

There are people out there that make their living suing people. I used to work for a property management company that did low income housing. We were sued by a "consulting" firm under the Americans with Disabilities Act. When it was all said and done, we made no changes to the accessible unit for the wheelchair bound tenant because she was happy to start with and didn't want anything changed. The "consulting" firm made $25k to continue their "advocacy" for the disabled.