Court Orders MTN To Pay Nigerian Musician N20m
The offended party had blamed MTN for selling a melody he created in July 2013 as a ring tone.The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has requested broadcast communications monster, MTN Nigeria to pay an Abuja-based performer, Liberty Williams over copyright infringement.
The suit stamped FHC/ABJ/CS/2017 was founded in 2017 by Williams against MTN, its Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman; Nowhere to Run Entertainment Ltd and Emmanuel Abanah.Williams with the stage name, “Pupayannis” had through his legal advisors from Remedium Law Partners (previously Felix Igelige and Associate Law Partners) requested that the court grant N200 million as broad harms and N100 million as exasperated and reformatory harms in support of himself.
The offended party had blamed MTN for selling a melody he created in July 2013 as a ring tone.
He had requested that the court pronounce that MTN’s offer of the melody without his assent comprised an encroachment on his copyright.
The offended party had claimed that MTN, as a team with No Where to Run Entertainment Company, offered his melody “Love is everything” to its huge number of supporters as a ring tone and guest tune without his assent.
In a proclamation of guarantee, the offended party said he composed, created and supported the development of the tune in July 2013, 90 days before he went into a concurrence with No Where to Run Entertainment Ltd.
He battled that he didn’t, whenever, give up the expert tape and the right of the melody to the diversion organization and its CEO.
The offended party supplicated the court to grant N200 million as broad harms and N100 million as irritated and correctional harms in support of himself.
Conveying judgment on Thursday, the directing adjudicator, Justice Mary Ojukwu asked the broadcast communications organization to pay the performer N20,000,000 and furthermore render a record of benefit for the unlawful utilization of the melody for quite some time.