I recently came across this article which talks about copyright infringement.  BMI, Broadcast Music Inc., files copyright infringement lawsuits against restaurants and bars who fail to get licenses for playing music without paying royalties. I was surprised to learn that many of these lawsuits are not initiated by the artists themselves but rather, are initiated by BMI.  I was also surprised by how high and costly penalties can be.  It seems smart to splurge on the cost of subscribing with BMI or another organization like it because you may end up saving thousands later on.  I was left with the impression that companies like BMI don’t actually care about protecting an original artist’s rights or copyright but rather are taking advantage of restaurants that fail to get licenses solely for monetary gain.