PHILADELPHIA — A number of music publishing companies are suing Katsaros Inc. d/b/a Yorgos Restaurant and Lounge a/k/a Yorgos and George Katsaros, citing alleged copyright infringement for playing their songs in their restaurant without a license.
Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and over 10 other music copyright holders filed a complaint on April 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the defendants alleging that they used plaintiff's musical compositions for public performance in their establishment without a license.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that they sustained damages from having their musical compositions used without their permission. The plaintiffs hold the defendant restaurant and its ownership responsible because the defendants allegedly refused to obtain a license from the plaintiffs to play the music and continued to use their musical compositions. The plaintiffs claim to have reached out the the defendants over 25 times by phone or email since August 2015.
The plaintiffs seek to enjoin the defendant and for the defendant to pay statutory damages, court costs and any further relief this court grants. They are represented by Stanley H. Cohen of Caesar Rivise PC in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 5:17-cv-01612-JLS