COSON kicks against N5.9bn awarded to MCSN for copyright Infringement *Says: 'some of the works in question belong to its affiliates'

Barely a week after the Federal High Court in Lagos, awarded N5.9 billion “special damages” against Multichoice Nigeria in an eight-year-old copyright infringement legal battle between the South Africa firm and the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, MCSN, members of Copyright Society of Nigeria,COSON, have kicked against the judgement, describing it as “bizarre and an attempt to turn the Nigeria music industry into a gold mine, from where those who have made no investments nor contributions to the industry can cart away illicit billions of Naira while the true creators and investors in the industry languish in penury.”

Speaking on behalf of the members of the society at a world press conference on Wednesday, at COSON House in Ikeja, Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON recalled that at the time the purported infringement took place, MCSN was not an approved collecting society and that there is a plethora of Court of Appeal decisions stating that without approval, MCSN cannot collect royalties in Nigeria. “MCSN was facing seven pending criminal cases at the Federal High Court and which the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami ordered the Nigerian Copyright Commission to approve in 2017, despite the protest of the NCC,” Okoroji stated.

According to Okoroji, a number of the works said to have been infringed upon are works in the repertoire controlled by COSON for which Multichoice Nigeria has obtained a legitimate license.

Okoroji added that COSON has received reactions from some of its international affiliates wondering what the hell is going on in Nigeria as some of the works for which MCSN was said to have received the award belong to these COSON affiliates and at no time did they assign the works to MCSN.

He asked for a precedent for the kind of award against Multichoice noting that if a single Nigerian company providing employment to hundreds if not thousands of Nigerian citizens can be said to liable up to the whopping sum of 6 billion Naira for copyright infringement in the broadcast of 18 songs then it would require the entire national budget of Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt to pay for the entire Multichoice content.

“If Multichoice Nigeria, a single Nigerian company providing employment to hundreds if not thousands of our citizens can be said to liable up to the whopping sum of N6 billion for copyright infringement in the broadcast of 18 songs as reported by some newspapers since no one I yet to see a copy of the judgement, then it will require the entire national budget of Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt to pay for the entire Multichoice content,”Okoroji stated.

Asked the celebrated former president of PMAN, “For a nation that continuously says that it badly wants direct foreign investment, which rational person would want to come and invest his money in Nigeria and expose himself to this kind of frightful shake down?”

Chief Tony Okoroji who is one of Africa’s most respected authorities on Intellectual Property said, “Some of us have spent practically our entire adult lives campaigning for the respect for intellectual property rights in our country. Our campaign has been for a responsible intellectual property system. Rather than help the collective management of copyright in Nigeria, the kind of shake down of Multichoice which will ruin entire companies will turn decent people against the collective management of copyright and hurt our industry and our country. After Mutichoice, who will be next?”

Speaking further, COSON called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call Mr. Abubakar Malami to order. The society also called on the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly to ensure that there is a full and transparent probe of what is happening at both the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Federal High Court.

Calling for the resignation of the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Abdul Kafarati, for his role in what the society described as ‘a frightening new assault on the Nigerian Judiciary, COSON Chairman also urged the Federal Executive Council to direct the immediate return of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to the supervision of the Minister charged with responsibility for culture as expressly provided in Section 51 of the Nigerian Copyright Act so that the Commission can be properly deployed to the promotion of the Nigerian creative industry instead of being a tool for the pursuit of devious schemes as it is presently being deployed.

Present at the event were Sir Shina Peters, Kenny Saint Brown, reggae legend, Ras Kimono, COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji amog other members of the society.