Karaoke Forums

The Soundchoice lawsuit hammer has dropped on Portland, Oregon and all points beyond in Oregon. Here is the link to the Docket:

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ere is the justice site http://dockets.justia.com/docket/oregon ... 05/104456/
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Slep-Tone Entertainment Corporation v. J&W LLC et al
dockets.justia.com
Oregon District Court - Intellectual Property - Trademark - Slep-Tone Entertainment Corporation v. J&W LLC et al - Justia Federal Dockets and Filings
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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

This is the first round of filings for Portland and surrounding area, Willamette Valley and perhaps Oregon Coast. This first filing, so far I am told that there are 100+ filings waiting in the wings.

So far I have been told of at least 3 bars that have simply dropped karaoke. Done. Dont know how many more bars have washed their hands of it.

Our local Karaoke entertainment paper in Portland has lost 2 LONG LONG term advertisers.

Dont know how many KJ's have folded their tents.

There also is at least 1 KJ/individual who in under investigations for production and sale of the pre-loaded hard drives. Dont know if FBI in involved in that one. That guy is from somewhere south of PDX.

I have been told that Chartbuster is on their way with thier own set of investigations.

The docket for Portland lists a couple of PROMINENT bars and a number of LONG-TIME KJ's (some multi-riggers) from around the area.

A good number of these KJ's/bars have CAVS machines involved.

More info to follow as I hear of it.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

There are 31 names listed on this 1st docket----it may well be the LARGEST single docket nationwide to date. Certainly the largest one Ive see.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I think there are more in the California filing.... but I could be wrong.

It will be interesting to see what will happen from your front-row seat. I see that a few bars have dropped it entirely -like a hot potato- and I'll be interested to see how it affects the overall picture in a few months.

Apparently, even after several "rounds" in other cities, there really hasn't been much change at all.

*******HAPPY DANCE HAPPY DANCE*******

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

Us Certified Legal Host Are Really Getting Hammered From People Who Are Mad Because Of The Level Playing Field That Is Coming!!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

yeah right, "certified" is correct. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with karaoke.

you are not the solution then:) since you don't know me.

Sound Choice Filed the Suits In October I heard about it around the 16th from a KJ who had thought he was Legal But the person He Bought His Music From Got His Papers from sound choice and called him.

Keep reading– You'll find that sometimes "ignorance really is bliss." You'll also find that over the last two years, suing karaoke hosts and clubs has not really been a solution either. KJAthena is in an area where they have sued hosts and clubs A number of times and she still has pirate problems.

Chip, you should know since you are somewhat famillar with the legal system that the system doesn't always move as fast as we want it to regardless of the situation. Instead of Always finding fault with the process, offer up a solution because piracy is real and the manus are seeeking a solution of their own. Like it or not. And yes in our world, our sky is falling. But, I would never expect you to see that.

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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 agree piracy is real, but the solution they're seeking doesn't appear to be fighting piracy.

If they're fighting piracy then why aren't they going after the hard drive sellers?

SC is turning criminals into customers to recoup costs, but how is that preventing more and more piracy?

Just this past week I was told about 2 new venues in my area (rural town population of less than 18,000)planning to offer their own karaoke as well as 2 new KJ in the area. The source of my info is quite certain these are all pirate shows!

If the supply of pirated material is decreased isn't that going to help deter the continued spread of the piracy problem?

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My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

when the feds the take down one pirate selling drives, someone else that has no idea of someone else getting caught starts selling in a different area. an as fast as they take one down 10 more pop up selling pirated drives. then the feds or local government have to start the process all over again. it's not just a couple days for an investigation.... they have to get everything right to be able to charge someone. and it takes several months or even a couple years to build a strong case against someone pirating software.

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It's all good!

I fully agree that what SC is doing isn't much of a piracy deterrent. On the other hand, it may well become a deterrent to venues in regard to the hiring of Karaoke Hosts. What business owner wants waves?

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Just an "In-General" observation....it does seem the karaoke bars are thinning out in my immediate area in the last few weeks.....but that may be just due to bad business climate/recession effects.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Getting certified or whatever you wanna call it has guaranteed my venue owners no "waves" of any kind. They know exactly what there getting when they hire me and dont have to worry about any repercussions down the line.

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

If you hosts are sitting back and waiting for SC to stop piracy then you're in for a long wait! A problem like Piracy is way too big for one or two karaoke manus to handle on their own. They need support. They need people on the ground like yourselves who can spread the word to current and future venues about the consequences of hiring illegal hosts.
They need us to shout from the hills that piracy is taking karaoke to alltime lows not just from a profit standpoint but from a professional level as well. We need to educate them about the right way to do things.
Until we as hosts start taking matters in our own hands(which I'm trying to do) things will pretty much stay status quo. Sure, SC will win a few battles here and there but if your looking for true IMPACT it's time to step up to the plate.

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Sound Choice and Chartbuster Certified

Don't kid yourself, SC isn't out to stop piracy. they're making money on it and convincing you to recruit sales agents and sales leads.

howardb,
we have seen 7 filings in the middle district of Florida, and were named in the first round ourselves. We contacted SC had a skype audit followed up by a disc by disc audit at the meeting in NC and were promptly cleared. We are one of very few companies that can state we are certified by SC/CB/Stellar (stellar no longer audits). It has taken over 3 years to see the tide changing here so do not expect an quick response. It also helps if there are people in each area willing to mail or hand deliver KIAA packets ect and educate people in the area you are in. This year 3 of our venues gave us a small raise (5 years without any before this) we are getting more and more call backs on our marketing brochures and many pirates have disappeared and best of all fewer are starting up. So it is a slow process but it does help ....tie a not in your rope and hang on

Bright Blessings
KJathena

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"Integrity is choosing your thoughts, words and actions based on your principles and values rather than for your personal gain."
Unknown
"if a man has integrity, nothing else matters, If a man has no integrity, nothing else matters."
Lee McGuffey

To a rapidly falling, reputation blowing star? Nah..

Personally, I don't think aligning oneself to a company that seems to be rapidly losing their rep in the business is a good idea.

As for Stellar- they, unlike SC, are still producing new karaoke music, and have a customer base to maintain. THAT, IMHO, is why they no longer do audits.

I also doubt that CB will get involved with any of the SC suits as rumored- for the exact same reason. What they MIGHT do is let SC do the dirty work, and then come in and try to sell audits, piggybacking on SC's fear tactics..

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

" Disc based and loving it..."