The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) filed charges against telecommunications giants, including MTN Nigeria and four other service providers over copyright infringement.
The four defendants in the case charged with Number FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024 were sued over alleged illegal dealing with the works of musician, Maleke Idowu Moye as Caller Ring Back Tunes.
The musical works and sound recordings of the musician allegedly infringed upon include; 911, Minimini-Wana Wana, Stop Racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low Waist, and No Bother.
The case was filed in the Federal High Court, Abuja Division. The case’s defendants are; the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Nkeakam Abhulimen, Karl Toriola, Fun Mobile Ltd., and Yahaya Maibe.
In the three-count charge, the NCC alleged that the defendants, spanning from 2010 to 2017, engaged in the “offering for sale, selling, and trading for business purposes,” thereby infringing upon the musical works of artist, Maleke Idowu Moye without obtaining his consent or authorization.
According to the Commission, it was alleged that the defendants used musical works and sound recordings of Maleke with existing copyright, such as Caller Ring Back Tunes, without obtaining authorization from the artist.
In the second count charge, MTN and the other defendants were also accused by NCC of allegedly distributing the musical works of the artiste to their subscribers, without receiving authorisation, thereby, infringing on the rights of Maleke.
For the third count charge, the defendants were alleged to have in their possession, other than for their private or domestic use, the musical works and sound recordings of the artiste.
Under section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, NCC claims the alleged offences are punishable.
The report claims the case is yet to be assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed.
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How Does The Law Suit From NCC Affect the Defendants?
If found guilty, MTN and the four other defendants will have to compensate the musical artiste, Maleke Idowu Moye.
Section 36 of the Copyright Act 2022 outlines a comprehensive list of actions that constitute copyright infringement. Broadly speaking, the Act considers any unauthorized exercise of the exclusive rights held by a copyright owner as an infringement.
To establish copyright infringement, the purported copyright owner must demonstrate a clear link between their work and the allegedly infringing work. This typically involves showing a strong probability that the defendant copied their work and made substantial use of it.
As long as Maleke can prove that his musical sounds were used by the defendants without obtaining the necessary authorization from him, MTN and others will be found guilty.
According to Section 37(2) of the Act, in civil enforcement proceedings, the aggrieved party is entitled to various remedies.
These may include seeking damages, obtaining injunctions, requesting accounts, or seeking other reliefs similar to those available in equivalent proceedings concerning the infringement of proprietary rights.
Additional remedies may involve orders for inspection and seizure, as well as measures for forfeiture and destruction.
In this case, Maleke might either be getting worthy compensation or getting his musical works and soundtrack taken off their platforms if the defendants are found guilty by a court of law.
Former President, Muhammad Buhari signed the Copyright Bill 2022 into law before the end of his administration in 2023.
The bill was passed into law to ensure efficient administration, regulation, enforcement, and copyright protection in the digital space.
NCC explains that the bill is aimed at “protect the rights of authors and ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts, provide appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works, facilitate Nigeria’s compliance with obligations arising from relevant international copyright treaties and conventions, as well as enhance the capacity of the Nigerian Copyright Commission for effective regulation, administration, and enforcement”.
