The complaint
Broadcast Music, Inc. et al. v. The Garden Rooftop, LLC d/b/a Garden Rooftop and Alexander Wolde, No. 1:26-cv-03675 (D. Md., Northern Division), was filed September 17, 2026, ECF No. 1 (6 pages). The plaintiffs are BMI and the publishers Linseyanne Music Co., Inc., The Music Force, EMI Consortium Songs, Inc. d/b/a EMI Longitude Music, Hip City Music Inc., Hifrost Publishing, Ghostown Thang Music, EMI Blackwood Music Inc., Ground Control Music, and Carl Mo Music.
The works
BMI alleges it licenses public performance rights in 22.4 million musical compositions as agent for Broadcast Music, LLC. The publisher plaintiffs are pleaded as owners of the copyrights in the songs at issue. A schedule attached as Exhibit A lists, for each of three claims, the song, writers, publishers, registration date and number, dates of infringement, and the establishment.
What the complaint alleges
The plaintiffs allege that The Garden Rooftop, LLC operates the Garden Rooftop establishment in Baltimore and publicly performs music there, and that Wolde is a member, owner, or operator with the right to supervise it and a direct financial interest. They allege that since June 2025 BMI contacted the defendants more than 30 times by phone, mail, and email, including cease and desist notices, and that the defendants performed the three scheduled songs without a license. The complaint describes the infringement as willful.
Relief sought
The plaintiffs ask for an injunction under 17 U.S.C. § 502, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c), and costs and a reasonable attorney's fee under 17 U.S.C. § 505.
On the docket
Summonses issued to both defendants on September 18, 2026, and the clerk sent the report on the filing to the Copyright Office the same day. No response from the defendants appears on the docket through October 30, 2026.