NCC presses charges against MTN Nigeria, others for alleged copyright infringement
The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has taken legal action against MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. and four individuals, alleging copyright infringement.
According to documents obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, the charge, numbered FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024, was filed in the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
Named as defendants in the case are Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria, Nkeakam Abhulimen, Fun Mobile Ltd., and Yahaya Maibe.
The charges, outlined in a three-count indictment, accuse the defendants of infringing upon the musical works of artist Maleke Idowu Moye between 2010 and 2017.
The NCC alleges that the defendants “offered for sale, sold and traded for business” Maleke’s musical works without his consent or authorization.
Specifically, they used his works as Caller Ring Back Tunes without proper authorisation, including songs such as 911, Minimini-wanawana, Stop racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low waist, and No bother.
Furthermore, the defendants are accused of distributing Maleke’s works to their subscribers without authorisation, thus violating the artist’s rights.
Additionally, they allegedly possessed Maleke’s works for purposes other than private or domestic use.
The NCC cites Section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, as the basis for the charges.
Despite the filing of charges, the case has not yet been assigned to a judge, and no date has been set for a hearing, according to NAN.
The Copyright Act of 2022 outlines various acts constituting copyright infringement, which includes proof of a causal connection between the original work and the allegedly infringing work as necessary to establish copyright infringement.
Section 37(2) of the Act provides for various reliefs in civil enforcement actions, including damages, injunctions, and other remedies similar to those available for infringement of proprietary rights.
