The South African entertainment company used Lagbaja and UEFA songs without copyright.
A Federal High Court has finally ruled that Multichoice Nigeria Limited pay N5.9 billion as “special damages” to Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN).
The judgement came after a 6-year legal battle which began with MCSN’s written notice to Multichoice in 2011 demanding N4.1 billion as copyright and royalties for 18 songs under its catalogue used in Multichoice programmes.
Nairametrics lists some of the songs which includes Konko Below and Never Far Away, by iconic Nigerian masked musician, Bisade Ologunde also known as Lagbaja.
Other songs, which the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria accused Multichoice of using without lawful permission include UEFA Cup thematic music and UEFA Championship League thematic music.
Counter
The South African entertainment distribution company refuted the claim arguing that the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria did not have legal authority to collect royalties or copyright monies on behalf of artistes. In a counter move, it sued MCSN seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the organization from demanding them to secure copyright licence for the broadcast and communication of musical works on channels it operates and distributes.
Court Ruling
On Friday, the judge Mohammed Idris, struck out Multichoice’s claims against the defendant, the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria.
“The court having delivered judgment this 19th day of January, 2018, striking out the plaintiff’s claims, it is hereby ordered as follows: That judgment is entered in favour of the defendant/counter-claimant in the following terms: N5,490,652,125.00 only as special damages,” the judge said.
The court also awarded N309 million and N200 million as aggravated and general damages respectively against Multichoice in favour of the MCSN.
About MCSN
Founded in 1984, the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) is an incorporated collective association of authors, composers, arrangers and publishers of music. The body was set up to take over the responsibilities of the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and Performing Rights Society (PRS). Both copyright bodies have been in operation in Nigeria before independence.
Multichoice
Multichoice Nigeria is a subsidiary of Multichoice Africa, a group owned by South African media giant Naspers. The unit was founded in 1994 and manages the DSTV and Gotv pay tv packages.