Skip's Tavern, which sits on Cortland Avenue in the heart of Bernal Heights, is a throwback to when San Francisco was mostly a blue-collar town.
Twice in less than a year, Courtright was sued for copyright infringement by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, which collects royalty payments for copyright holders and represents them in legal disputes.
Courtright's troubles began in September 2002, when he received a letter claiming that a private investigator hired by ASCAP heard musicians playing covers of copyrighted songs at Skip's on June 22, 2002.
The letter, from the San Francisco office of the law firm Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, threatened a lawsuit.
Under copyright law, Courtright can be held liable for the copyright infringements at his club because he never purchased a license from ASCAP.
Yet Courtright and Regi Harvey, a drummer and guitarist who was on stage on the night in question, vehemently deny that any such infringement took place. In fact, copies of the lawsuits and supporting documentation reveal two very different versions of what was played that night.
Harvey said the three songs in question -- "Shop Around," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and "Where Is the Love?" -- are not even in his band's repertoire.
"We play original jazz and jazz rock," said Harvey. "We don't even like those songs."
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