Karaoke Forums

Out of stock at this time. They say they will have more and will notify me, but I won't hold my breath... Thanks just the same for your time and effort, Lone..

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Correct. Like McLeod's, someone will have to have witnessed them in use- which never happened at McLeod's.

Honestly, at this point a KJ would have to have an idiot of a lawyer to lose in court, considering past recorded discrepancies, Logos affixed to unlicensed product, and the actions of the company itself. Conversely, SC would be ill-advised to step into a courtroom, with the possibility of not only losing their litigation-based income in one fell swoop, but what seems to be a strong case for those seeking legal/civil reprisal. Then again, I'm not Perry Mason, and I HAVE heard of the weirdest stuff happen in court....but I wouldn't bet the farm on it..

Speaking of which, I'm wondering if NJ will follow suit and null the mass suit in favor of individuals, which would raise the $350 filing to something like $7,000

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

So I guess the question I would like answered is it justice or sales that SC is most concerned with? If they do catch some one they are not running them out of business, since the goal seems to be maximize profits, by making them new loyal customers. In the case of the suspected pirate I have met, nothing was done basically, except he has dropped the SC part of his library, and life goes on. He did not pass go, he did not use his get out of jail free card, his piece is still on the board, and the game continues? So is this like a Shakespeare play "Much Ado About Nothing"?

Mr. Harrington, can you post a copy of the warning letter that was sent to the various Venues (before they were named in any lawsuits)... the one that stated (something along the lines) not to hire a KJ if they are not "Certified" or are not listed in SC's website as being legit?

I'd be interested in this as well, but I would ask you make sure that it's not been amended and is as original as the venue owners got.

That would be a good thing to see, yes. But I have a question to anyone who may be able to answer for me. What would be the 'consequences' ( for lack of a better word... Sorry, it's morning... ) if there was no warning letters sent? Basically I am asking this: If a pub/bar/club/whatever does not know anything about karaoke piracy and suddenly got hit by a lawsuit, what could they do to protect themselves? It's not always so easy to spot a karaoke host who's 'gone pirate'. I mean, we know what to look for, but what if the owner of the establishment has no idea?

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Get up and try singing. Don't be afraid, it's only massive fun and the best stress relief I know of! =D

"If my love were in my arms, and the night were long, what reason would I have to wrench the silence into song." - To me from my Sally. <3

To my knowledge, no such letter has ever been sent. I am reasonably certain that we would not send a letter saying not to hire a KJ if they are not certified. In fact, I don't believe we have ever sent a letter saying not to hire anyone. I believe that there are some materials that do say that we will not sue someone who hires a certified KJ. Those are not the same thing.

Because our letters are individualized, I can't simply post a copy of the letters that have been sent, but I can post the text of an example letter that has had the identifying information redacted.

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(Date)

(Venue Name/Address)

Re: Intellectual Property Infringement through karaoke - URGENT ACTION NEEDED BY (Future Date)

Dear Owner or Manager:

This letter includes important information about pending lawsuits. Please do not ignore it.

Slep‐Tone Entertainment Corporation is the owner of the popular line of karaoke music sold under the brand name Sound Choice®. Our firm represents Slep‐Tone in several trademark infringement lawsuits recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the ________ District of _______. You are receiving this letter because, either currently or at some point in the recent past, you have hired a karaoke host who is a defendant in one of those lawsuits.

You may not have been aware that as a venue where karaoke is provided, you bear responsibility for the karaoke hosts you hire to provide those services, and you can be held liable if they commit acts of infringement. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of that fact and to give you an opportunity to avoid being sued for the acts of your employees or contractors.

In order to help venues avoid being sued, Sound Choice has established a Safe Harbor program that makes complying with the law easy. We want you to have karaoke in your venue. But we need your help to make sure that the people you hire aren’t stealing Sound Choice’s music. It couldn’t be easier to sign up for the program. You can find out more about the program, and sign up, by visiting http://scsafeharbor.com.

To begin the process, all we need from you is some basic information (name, address, phone number, etc.) and a commitment from you that you’ll require the hosts you hire to register with us. For hosts, registration means filling out a short questionnaire about their karaoke operations. If you’re in the program, you won’t be sued for hiring a registered host—even if it turns out that host isn’t operating legally. Best of all, the program is 100% free to you and your host.

We’ve even included a copy of the venue registration form in this package for your convenience. If you prefer, you can register online. Registration forms for your hosts can be downloaded from the website, or your hosts can register online as well.

If the host you’re using now is operating illegally, and you don’t sign up for the program, you run the risk of being sued for the host’s acts of infringement. Slep-Tone is preparing to file another lawsuit in _________ in about three weeks. If you sign up for this program by (future date), you will not be included as a defendant in that lawsuit, and—if you complete the steps required to maintain the safe harbor—you can continue to feature karaoke in your establishment without worrying about a lawsuit from Slep-Tone.

Thank you for taking the time to review this material. We hope you will choose to join the Safe Harbor program. If not, you should understand that Slep-Tone is taking steps to enforce its rights through the courts. Whether you join the Safe Harbor program or not, you have a continuing obligation to prevent your employees or contractors from infringing Slep-Tone’s rights when they provide karaoke services in your establishment.

Sincerely yours,

HARRINGTON LAW, P.C.

/s/

By James M. Harrington

Just to clarify, I'm not saying that letters haven't been sent, just that letters of the type described have not been sent. The letter above is an example of the letters that do get sent.

i can easily see a venue thinking that if they don't hire a certified KJ they would get sued. between the wording in the letter, and the KIAA forms, it seems that way.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

You do understand that being a "certified KJ" and being registered for the safe harbor program are two completely different things, right?

I do not see how anyone who objectively looks at that letter could view it as saying "hire a certified KJ or else we sue." I do, however, see how someone who is predisposed to object, no matter how spurious the grounds, to any enforcement effort by Sound Choice who see it that way.

Like it or not, venues that take the "hear no evil, see no evil" approach are part of the problem.

Hear, hear!

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

Many venues, just don't have a clue.......just like anything else, a little education goes a long way.....weeds out, at least those with a conscience.

Every venue I could find that has karaoke in my market share, including my clients, have been sent educational materials from The KIAA.

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

We got the Safe Harbor info pack sent to our club.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Yup, every venue I did at the time had KIAA material as well. I know this because they all brought it to me with questions.

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

so i could get in the safe harbor program, without an audit? how exactly does that get verified without an audit? and for the record, i am the only one in AZ with both SC and CB certs so i am not "predisposed to object, no matter how spurious the grounds, to any enforcement effort by Sound Choice".
hear no evil, see no evil is a major part of the issue. it may cost them more down the road, but as long as it does not cost them more right now, it's ok. most bar owners are truly morons.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

.....drunken morons.

I'm happy my clients are mainly casino's & restaurants.

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"Just Say NO, To Justin Bieber & His Beatle Haircut"

You continue to bring up a dolphin that was caught in tuna net, let that one go! What of the ones that have settled?

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No venue to big or too small. From your den to the local club or event, we have the music most requested. Great sounding system!

I have saved, printed, and stored this template, as I do all SC or SC represented posts.


Agreed. I especially like this part:

"_______. You are receiving this letter because, either currently or at some point in the recent past, you have hired a karaoke host who is a defendant in one of those lawsuits."

Kind of a "license to kill", but for mailings. The venues would have no idea about past hosts, and no way of finding out.

I will take the liberty of assuming for the purposes of this post that these letters have actually only been mailed to venues whose hosts have actually had suits FILED against them ( though personally, I have doubts). Even if this were so, it is worded in such a way as to cause the venue to presume guilt. There is no disclaimer stating that said suits have not yet been resolved ( if that is the case), and that the host may be innocent of ANY wrongdoing. This may even be actionable, if damages to the KJ, such as the loss of the venue due to wavemaking, were to ensue.

Also, no mention that hosts that either use original mfrs. discs in their show, or who can show them to the venue management would be considered exempt from legal problems.

In other words, SC has set THEMSELVES and ONLY THEMSELVES up as the judge and jury of who is operating honestly, without giving any obvious alternatives.

Of course, this is great for them, if they can sucker a venue into thinking that SC is more than they really are.

An absolutely sickening disregard for Karaoke professionals everywhere, and the whole karaoke business in general.


PLEASE NOTE: I understand that HarringtonLaw was under no obligation to post that template. Despite my feeling in regard to it's content, I appreciate the fact that he did so. Thank you.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Well, you keep mangling the analogy. Dragnets are NOT selective. They catch EVERYTHING, and then, if they get lucky, they get a a tuna or two. In other words, completely opposite of your analogy.

What of the the ones who settled? Were they guilty of wrongdoing, or merely misinformed/uneducated, or were intimidated by the same tactics that were used to make a KJ who posted here ( Athena remembers her name, but I don't) to make her settle? She stated that she wouldn't have had she had more information, though then proceeded to become a "cheerleader" after settling. go figure...

No one knows what happened in most of the "settlements". I ,for one, suspect that different hosts may have been treated differently depending on, um, ..their "level of cooperation". However, no one knows.

Therefore, let go of the settlements. There are no answers forthcoming from them.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."