US Government Targets Pirate Bay and Other 'Piracy Havens' (torrentfreak.com)

The US Government has listed some of the largest piracy websites and other copyright-infringing venues. The USTR calls on foreign countries to take action against popular piracy sites such as The Pirate Bay, which has important "symbolic value," according to the authorities. In addition, stream-ripping is mentioned as an emerging threat. TorrentFreak adds: The overview is largely based on input from industry groups including the RIAA and MPAA, who submitted their recommendations a few weeks ago. While the USTR admits that the list is not meant to reflect legal violations, the goal of the review is to motivate owners and foreign Governments to take appropriate action and reduce piracy. "The United States encourages all responsible authorities to intensify efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting, and to use the information contained in the Notorious Markets List to pursue legal actions where appropriate," the USTR announced.

Comments

Venues licensed by BMI and ASCAP

[tepples]

It's absolutely not a copyright issue, but not for the reason mentioned in the article you cite. So long as the venue in which a rally is held holds a license from the publisher through the appropriate licensing agency, a rally's organizer can perform a musical work publicly. In the USA, this is either BMI or ASCAP depending on the song in question.

But this article is right about trademarks. An owner of a mark can use one of two legal theories: infringement or dilution. Infringement happens only within a field of use. Dilution applies to particularly famous trademarks and can cross fields of use, but it's quite a bit harder for a mark owner to prove fame.