Milene Music, Inc. v. Gotauco

551 F. Supp. 1288, 220 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 880, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16920
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedNovember 24, 1982
DocketCiv. A. 80-0636, 82-0032
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 551 F. Supp. 1288 (Milene Music, Inc. v. Gotauco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Milene Music, Inc. v. Gotauco, 551 F. Supp. 1288, 220 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 880, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16920 (D.R.I. 1982).

Opinion

OPINION

SELYA, District Judge.

OVERTURE

These actions for monetary and injunctive relief based on alleged copyright infringement are before the Court on plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment and defendants’ objections thereto. The cases were consolidated by order dated July 8, 1982 for the purpose of facilitating pre-trial discovery and consideration of these motions. 1 The motions, and the opposition thereto, have been fully briefed by the parties. Oral arguments were scheduled to be heard by the Court on November 10, 1982, at which time counsel for all parties elected to waive the same and to rest upon their respective briefs. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1338(a).

After examining the record, it appears that the score of this juridical libretto possesses a distinctive musicological tonality, which the Court will endeavor to capture and to summarize.

FIRST MOVEMENT

Each of the plaintiffs is a music publisher, and each is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (hereinafter “ASCAP”). The plaintiffs, through ASCAP, license copyrighted material to individuals and businesses wishing to perform the material in public, or to sponsor such performances.

The corporate defendant (hereinafter “M.A.P.”) is the owner and operator of a *1291 popular local “watering hole” 2 which is located in Exeter, Rhode Island, offering food, drink, and live nocturnal entertainment to its patrons. Each of the individual defendants are shareholders and-or officers of M.A.P., and collectively manage its affairs. 3

Until April 1, 1976, M.A.P. held a valid license from ASCAP permitting public performances of plaintiffs’ compositions at the Covered Wagon. On or about April 1,1976, this license was revoked for failure to pay license fees (amounting to $870.00) theretofore accrued. On numerous occasions thereafter, representatives of ASCAP offered to reinstate the license if the previously accrued fees owed by M.A.P. were paid. Defendants repeatedly rebuffed these requests for payment. 4 On September 27, 1980 and again in early August of 1981, agents of ASCAP patronized the Covered Wagon, apparently as part of a surreptitious (but entirely legal) undercover investigation. During the visit of September 27, it was noted that the following compositions were performed by a band: “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”, and “Tulsa Time”. On the visit of August 1-2,1981, the agents noted that live renditions were given of the following songs: “Peaceful Easy Feeling”, “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo”, “Tulsa Time”, “Orange Blossom Special”, and “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain”. At all times relevant hereto, plaintiffs (collectively) are and have been the proprietors of the copyrights for each and all of the works in question. 5

*1292 SECOND MOVEMENT

The Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 100 et seq. (hereinafter the “Act”), as recodified in 1976, provides in substance that any person who violates the exclusive rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of the copyright. 17 U.S.C. § 501(a). § 106 of the Act gives the owner of a copyrighted musical composition the exclusive right both to perform the work publicly and to authorize the public performance of the work. This framework enables the owner of the copyright to assign the licensing of public performances to others, such as ASCAP, on terms amenable to the copyright owner. George Simon, Inc. v. Spatz, 492 F.Supp. 836, 838 (W.D.Wis.1980); 1 M. Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 8.11, at 8-115 (1982). It appears of record that ASCAP, in the case at bar, served as the intermediary for all plaintiffs in this regard.

To establish copyright infringement, the plaintiffs must establish the following elements: (i) the creation and originality of the compositions involved; (ii) compliance with all formalities required to secure a copyright under the Act; (iii) plaintiffs’ proprietary right in and to the copyrights at issue; (iv) public performance of the songs for profit at the Covered Wagon; and (v) that the defendants had not received permission from the plaintiffs or their representatives for such performances. Boz Scaggs Music v. KND Corp., 491 F.Supp. 908, 912 (D.Conn.1980); Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. v. “The Log Cabin Club Association”, 365 F.Supp. 325, 328 n. 4 (N.D.W.Va.1973); accord George Simon, Inc. v. Spatz, supra, at 838; Chess Music, Inc. v. Tadych, 467 F.Supp. 819, 821 (E.D.Wis.1979).

Since this matter comes before the Court on plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, the burden is on the plaintiffs to establish that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that plaintiffs are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Mack v. Cape Elizabeth School Board, 553 F.2d 720, 722 (1st Cir.1977); See Over The Road Drivers, Inc. v. Transport Insurance Co., 637 F.2d 816, 819-20 (1st Cir.1980). If plaintiffs do so, and if the defendants cannot rebut this showing by establishing the existence of a genuine issue of material fact, or a divergent legal result, the plaintiffs are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Over The Road Drivers, Inc. v. Transport Insurance Co., supra, 637 F.2d at 818. This Court is mindful of the graphic and sagacious observation of the illustrious now-incumbent Chief Judge of this Circuit to the effect that “[Sjummary judgment is a judicial device available only when the effluent stream of controversy has been purified by the exclusion of any genuine issues of material fact.. .”. General Electric Co. v. United States Dynamics, Inc., 403 F.2d 933, 934 (1st Cir.1968). It is with this standard as a guide that the Court now proceeds to apply the respirometer of judicial scrutiny to the instant motions and to the underlying pleadings and evidentiary accouterments. By affidavits of ASCAP agents, and by adroit use of Rule 36, Fed.R.Civ.P., the plaintiffs have confronted each element of their case. By failing to answer, object or otherwise respond to the requests for admissions promulgated under Rule 36, the defendants are, for purposes of this litigation, deemed to have admitted the facts and statements limned by the requests. Luick v. Graybar Electric Co., 473 F.2d 1360, 1362 *1293 (8th Cir.1973); Moosman v. Joseph P. Blitz, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
551 F. Supp. 1288, 220 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 880, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16920, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/milene-music-inc-v-gotauco-rid-1982.