Bar Sued Over Old Songs

A bar owner in Amityville, N.Y., is facing a lawsuit from Warner Brothers for allowing performances of old copyrighted songs at his establishment without permission from ASCAP.

Giacomo Lagrassa owns Giacomo Jack’s and he’s been contacted numerous times by the rights organization since 2005 to purchase an ASCAP license for the bar, the label’s suit says.

But Lagrassa has refused to pay up, and now Warner Brothers claims the bar’s January performances of Harry Warren and Al Dubin’s 1934 song, “I Only Have Eyes For You,” and “Peace of Mind,” written by Donald “Tom” Scholz in 1977, have caused “great injury” to the label.

Warner Brothers is seeking a permanent enjoiner to keep Lagrassa’s establishment from ever playing the tunes again plus up to $30,000 for each of the two infringements.