KARAOKE LOUNGE AT THE VENETIAN RESORT SUED FOR $264 MILLION FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
Sybersound Records, a leading provider of karaoke content worldwide, has sued the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas and its owners for operating a karaoke lounge that uses its copyrighted recordings without a license.
According to the complaint, filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, the karaoke lounge known as “Kamu Ultra Karaoke,” uses Sybersound’s copyrighted "Party Tyme Karaoke" recordings in private “Sin City” karaoke rooms that are charged out at up to $4,000 for karaoke parties. Rather than pay Sybersound a licensing fee to use the Party Tyme Karaoke recordings, the lounge has customers stream karaoke content through YouTube channels that are restricted to personal, non-commercial use.
“The Venetian’s ‘Kamu Ultra Karaoke’ lounge is a brazenly illegal operation that uses YouTube to circumvent legitimate commercial licensing of Sybersound’s original Party Tyme Karaoke content,” said Peter Haviland, counsel for Sybersound Records. “We have become aware of this as a huge problem in karaoke lounges and events throughout the country, and we intend to stop it. Individuals can enjoy Party Tyme and other karaoke content through YouTube in their own homes and at their own private events. Commercial businesses, on the other hand, cannot exploit this content and make big profits from it without paying a fair subscription license for that commercial use.“
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wy4dafxt1b4vlmfqvs0on/2023-10-16-DN-1-1-5-2-23-cv-9750-Sybersound-v.-Apollo-Global-Management.pdf?rlkey=s0u66lcm9w5x0b87wrn09pdmk&dl=0