INDEPENDENCE — A group of music entertainers and producers have successfully won a lawsuit in federal court against Independence-based Tallgrass Broadcasting, LLC., and station president Joseph E. Walker for copyright infrigement.

On Aug. 12, U.S. District Senior Judge Sam A. Crow of the federal district court in Kansas ruled that Tallgrass Broadcasting, which is the parent company of radio stations KIND-AM and KIND-FM, infringed on the music producers’ and entertainers’ copyrights by broadcasting 14 musical compositions that were not licensed for the airwaves. The airing of those 14 compositions took place on July 14 and 15, 2008.

Suing Tallgrass Broadcasting were some of the best-known musical acts in the entertainment business, including Van Halen, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Allen Berg and the Bellamy Brothers.

Tallgrass Broadcasting failed to file any answers or provide defenses in the lawsuit, nor did Walker and Tallgrass Broadcasting file a response to a default judgement that Crow issued on April 25, 2009.

Therefore, Crow determined that Tallgrass Broadcasting should pay the producers and entertainers $5,000 for each of the 14 violations of copyright laws, bringing total statutory damages to $70,000. The radio broadcast company also was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s attorney fees, which totaled $2,510.17.