OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A suburban Omaha bar is being accused of violating copyright law by playing songs like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Born to Be Wild” for customers at its Waterloo location.
Broadcast Music International leads a list of music industry plaintiffs on the lawsuit filed Friday against the Fire Barn Sports Bar & Grill.
Neither the lawyer representing the music licensing agencies nor the bar’s manager responded immediately to messages about the case.
Federal law says writers and publishers of music are entitled to be paid for public performances of their music. Bars and other businesses usually pay an annual fee to groups such as BMI for a blanket license to their songs.
The lawsuit says the Fire Barn played the songs without a proper license to do so.