January 28, (THEWILL) — A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Airtel Nigeria to pay ₦210 million in damages to veteran singer, Veno Marioghae-Mbanefo, over the unauthorised use of her song, “Nigeria Go Survive”, in its advertising and promotional campaigns.
Justice Ibrahim Kala held that Airtel’s use of the musical work without obtaining a licence or authorisation from the artiste amounted to copyright infringement under the Copyright Act.
In his ruling, the judge awarded ₦200 million as general damages and an additional ₦10 million as cost of the action. The court also granted mandatory and perpetual injunctions restraining Airtel, its agents and representatives from further using the song, or any substantial part of it, for promotional or commercial purposes without proper consent.
Mbanefo had told the court that Airtel commercially exploited her work in advertisements and telemarketing campaigns without crediting her as the author or compensating her, thereby violating her intellectual property rights.
The court held that the evidence before it sufficiently established a valid claim of infringement against the telecoms company.
However, Justice Kala declined to grant Mbanefo’s request that Airtel be ordered to account for profits allegedly derived from the use of the song.
The judgement has been hailed as a significant boost for the protection of creative works and artists’ rights in Nigeria’s entertainment industry.
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