On Oct 16, 10:39 pm, "
wrote:
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-979...ss&subj=news&t....

They're actually after binaries but they're going after a provider.
Karl

You think that is bad! Here is an article from the UK. A place is
being sued
because the employees have a radio playing and the music may possibly
be heard by the customers.


Kwik-Fit sued over staff radios


Kwik-Fit had called for the case to be dismissed
A car repair firm has been taken to court accused of infringing
musical copyright because its employees listen to radios at work.

The action against the Kwik-Fit Group has been brought by the
Performing Rights Society which collects royalties for songwriters and
performers.

At a procedural hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh a judge
refused to dismiss the £200,000 damages claim.

Kwik-Fit wanted the case brought against it thrown out.

Lord Emslie ruled that the action can go ahead with evidence being
heard.

The PRS claimed that Kwik-Fit mechanics routinely use personal radios
while working at service centres across the UK and that music,
protected by copyright, could be heard by colleagues and customers.

It is maintained that amounts to the "playing" or "performance" of the
music in public and renders the firm guilty of infringing copyright.

The Edinburgh-based firm, founded by Sir Tom Farmer, is contesting the
action and said it has a 10 year policy banning the use of personal
radios in the workplace.

Playing music

The PRS lodged details of countrywide inspection data over the audible
playing of music at Kwik-Fit on more than 250 occasions in and after
2005.

It claimed that its pleadings in the action were more than enough to
allow a hearing of evidence in the case at which they would expect to
establish everything allegedly found and recorded at inspection
visits.

Lord Emslie said: "The key point to note, it was said, was that the
findings on each occasion were the same with music audibly 'blaring'
from employee's radios in such circumstances that the defenders' [Kwik-
Fit] local and central management could not have failed to be aware of
what was going on."

The judge said: "The allegations are of a widespread and consistent
picture emerging over many years whereby routine copyright
infringement in the workplace was, or inferentially must have been,
known to and 'authorised' or 'permitted' by local and central
management."

He said that if that was established after evidence it was "at least
possible" that liability for copyright infringement would be brought
home against Kwik-Fit.

But Lord Emslie said he should not be taken as accepting that the PRS
would necessarily succeed in their claims.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/s...st/7029892.stm